Just Another Angel Story
by Magical Girl Pretty Sammy-Chan
Summary: Hitomi's just another Angelic Layer junkie wanting to defy the odds! Can she do it? Find out! R&R please! On Hiatus
1. Just Another Angel Story

"Have you heard about it?"  
  
"It's sweeping all of Japan!"  
  
"That new game!"  
  
"Angelic Layer."  
  
*** The first second that 8th grader, Hitomi Masamichi laid eyes on Angelic Layer, she knew she was meant to be its champion.  
  
But she hadn't heard about her soon-to-be passion until one warm, September day, as she was walking to her first day at Eriol Academy.  
  
Hitomi had on her usual green lined Eriol Uniform. It kind of saddened her that this would be the last year she'd wear it. Next year she would be a freshman in High School and would wear the high school uniform. You see, all the pre-schoolers wore yellow. All the Elementary Schoolers, red. All the Middle Schoolers, green. And the High School wore blue. Still, she was getting a little tired of this green uniform. It didn't go with her long ebony hair, and blue shining eyes. Hitomi's hair was long. REALLY long. Even when she put it up in her trademark bun, the rest of the hair went down to her calves.  
  
All the girls in her grade thought that she was beautiful because of her hair. The boys all huffed and just said that it doesn't take a Usada Hikaru* to grow long hair.  
  
Hitomi made her way up two flights of stairs, on her way to the Middle School floor. She was ready to rule the Middle School, as the most popular girl in it. And she wasn't the snotty popular type either. Nope, she was just kind. She was nice with everyone, but she usually stuck to her closest four friends. Speaking of them, where were they?  
  
"HITOMI-CHAN!" Hitomi turned her head around the stair case to see one of her close friends, Yuki, running towards her, her back length blonde hair waving as she ran, her light blue eyes shining with excitement, "We're all in the same homeroom!"  
  
"Great!" Hitomi laughed at poor Yuki, out of breath.  
  
"Yeah, isn't it?" Yuki breathed heavily.  
  
"A lucky coincidence indeed," the two girls turned to see another one of their close friends Ayame. Ayame had short black hair and brown eyes. She was considered another beauty around school, second only to Hitomi. "How was your summer Hitomi?" she asked in her calm, celestial voice.  
  
"Wonderful!" Hitomi smiled at Ayame.  
  
"IT BETTER HAD BEEN!" the girls all automatically ducked as their friend, Kanako came flying over them in a jump-kick. She landed with grace on her left foot and took a graceful bow, her long brunette ponytail coming down onto her green eyes. The girls all applauded and laughed. Kanako was the giddiness of the party, really. Hitomi envied how good she looked in the green uniform. "So Hitomi?" she asked deviously, "You got a boyfriend yet?"  
  
Hitomi blushed furiously, "OF COURSE NOT!" she yelled quickly. The girls all giggled. "REALLY I--"  
  
The first bell rung, saving Hitomi from even more embarrassment. "We'd better get in," Ayame told them and they all nodded in agreement and went into their classroom, MS 104.  
  
The girls all sat down at desks next to one another. The entire class was chatting, but the four girls were looking around the room.  
  
"Where is she?"  
  
"I know she's in our homeroom."  
  
Hitomi kept looking around for her best friend. Where could she be? The teacher was taking role.  
  
"Akano, Ryo?"  
  
"Here."  
  
'I hope she makes it in time.' Hitomi thought.  
  
"Darichi, Yuki?"  
  
"Here."  
  
'Where IS she?'  
  
"Tano, Ikiko?"  
  
No response. Where was Ikiko?  
  
"HERE!"  
  
The class turned around to see Ikiko standing in the doorway, panting.  
  
"IKIKO-CHAN!" Hitomi yelled running up and giving her best friend a big hug.  
  
"HITOMI!" Ikiko yelled hugging her back. She then noticed the entire class watching. She quickly broke away and bowed to the teacher. "Sorry I'm late, Mr. Hikio." she stammered. "My mother's car broke down."  
  
"That's all right Ikiko," Mr. Hikio smiled, "Just sit down."  
  
Ikiko sat down next to Hitomi and they smiled at each other. Everyone gave the pair odd looks. Ikiko, well, she wasn't really like Hitomi and the others. Actually, she was the opposite of Hitomi in almost every way. Ikiko had long red hair that she kept up in untidy braids. She wore coke bottle glasses and had freckles all over her face. She had dull hazel eyes and had a very flat chest. Nobody knew why Hitomi hung out with her, when she could do so much better.  
  
But Hitomi didn't care what others thought. Ikiko was the best friend any girl could ask for. She was kind, generous, and smart, so she could help Hitomi if she was having problems with schoolwork. She always listened to Hitomi and the two were almost inseparable.  
  
Although the five girls were in the front row at the beginning of class, it didn't stay that way. The teacher had a seating chart and had put them in different seats. Hitomi had stayed in the front row of the class, next to Wong. Wong was cute, and he was from China. But no matter how cute Wong was, Hitomi wished she were still sitting next to Ikiko, who had been placed in the third row, first seat, like Hitomi. At least Hitomi sat in front of Ayame. That was cool.  
  
The day passed slowly, but Hitomi had at least one of her friends in all of her classes. And Ikiko was in 7 out of 8 of them. Ikiko took Algebra, while Hitomi was just taking Pre-Algebra. But during math, she could still talk to Yuki and Kanako who were with her.  
  
Finally the day ended. Hitomi, Ikiko, and the rest of their friends walked down the street from school to the curb together. They had done so every day since Kindergarten, it was a like a tradition. And as long as the ice cream vendor was at the corner, the one to loose a game of Hot Potato had to treat everyone to ice cream.  
  
This week, Hitomi lost. So, she was forced to buy, 1 chocolate scoop (Kanako), 1 vanilla (Ayame), 1 Strawberry (Yuki), and two Mint Chocolate chips (for her and Ikiko. They even liked the same ice cream.)  
  
One by one their parents drove up and they waved goodbye to their friend and said the friendship goodbye. 'I'll see you tomorrow, so don't try to run. And without me beside you, don't have any fun!' And then they'd say goodbye as many times as there were friends left. This time Hitomi was last, and Yuki was the one to only say one goodbye.  
  
Hitomi waited for a while under a big oak tree by the curb. These silly traditions they had, they seemed to have gone back to forever. Was there a time in her life that she hadn't known these wonderful friends of hers?  
  
"Hey, you dead?" Hitomi jumped a foot off the ground as she heard the voice. She looked up to see a man with frazzled black hair, dressed in a white lab coat.  
  
Hitomi looked at him for a moment and he looked back at her. There was a minute or so of silence.  
  
"KIDNAPPER!" Hitomi screamed at the top of her lungs. "HELP ME PLEASE, ANYONE, SOMEONE!"  
  
Hitomi continued to shriek as the man looked around nervously. "Stop yelling!" he cried at her. "Stop yelling!" he yelled louder. "STOP YELLING!" her finally screamed and she stopped, looking terrified. "I'm not a kidnapper!"  
  
"You're not?" Hitomi asked timidly.  
  
"No," he sighed. But then he looked at her, long, and hard. "What's your name kid?"  
  
"Hitomi," she stuttered. "Hitomi...Masamichi."  
  
"Hitomi," the man looked at her. "I have something here that you might be very interested in." Hitomi gulped and the man dug into his lab coat. Slowly, ever so slowly, he pulled out what seemed to be an egg. The egg was blue and had tiny wings protruding from the sides of it.  
  
"An egg?" she asked.  
  
"Not just any egg," he got very close to her, "This is an egg, filled with a dream." Hitomi looked at the egg again to see a turquoise doll, floating in a gooey liquid. "An Angel Egg." he finished and Hitomi reached out to touch it, but he pulled it away.  
  
"Nope," he said. "You have to buy it like everyone else."  
  
"Where do I buy it?" asked Hitomi, but she then stopped. "What does it do?"  
  
"That," the man kneeled down and put a hand on Hitomi's shoulder, "You will find out once we get to Piffle Princess."  
  
Hitomi stared at this man, for what seemed like forever. Slowly, while still staring at him, she pulled out her cell phone from her purse and pressed speed dial, "1." The phone rang as she remained in the same position, staring at the man.  
  
"Hello?" she heard her mom on the other end.  
  
"Mom?" Hitomi asked over the phone, "I'm going to be a bit late."  
  
*** Chappy 1 completed! Whaddya think? Too many friends and not enough Angels? Well Chapter Two will be jammed packed with Angel Action, so don't worry!  
  
Until then, Sayonara!  
  
*** *Usada Hikaru- A pop star in Japan. Writer and performer of "Simple and Clean." 


	2. The Birth of an Angel

"Are you sure honey?" Hitomi's mom asked over the phone.  
  
"Yeah," Hitomi smiled. "I'm going shopping."  
  
"By yourself?" she asked.  
  
"No," Hitomi half lied. After all she wasn't alone, but she didn't really know this man either. "Kanako and Ikiko are with me." Now that was a full lie.  
  
"Well," Hitomi's mom stretched out the word well, thinking, "I guess it's okay then."  
  
"Thanks Mom!" Hitomi smiled. "See you at about 4:30!"  
  
"Okay honey."  
  
"Bye!" Hitomi hung up her cell phone and put it back in her purse. "All right, mister," she eyed him. "First of all, what's your name?"  
  
"My name?" the man asked. "Mih--" he stopped. "Icchan." he smiled. "Call me Icchan."  
  
"Well, Icchan!" she smiled. "Let's go."  
  
"You know," he smiled. "You're the first one who hasn't called me Mr. Icchan."  
  
"First one of what?" Hitomi asked.  
  
"Nothing," he smiled. "Now, LET'S GO!" he yelled.  
  
"YEAH!" Hitomi yelled after him and the two of them started to walk down the street.  
  
"Did you see that guy?"  
  
"The one in the lab coat?"  
  
"I think he's stalking that 8th grader."  
  
De ja vu...  
  
*** "Here we are," Icchan smiled as they walked through the revolving doors of Piffle Princess. Hitomi gasped at the size of it. It was three stories high and had every toy imaginable. Dolls, bears, games, everything. The female employees wore short white skirts and long white blouses with nurses hats that had wings coming out from them. The male employees all wore aprons with the Piffle Princess Logo on them. The store was painted completely pink, yellow, and white, and little children everywhere scrambled for toys.  
  
"All right, Hitomi," Icchan smiled. "LET'S GO!"  
  
Icchan grabbed Hitomi and sprinted to an with a huge sign over it that said, "Angelic Layer."  
  
"HERE WE ARE!" Icchan yelled and Hitomi gasped as she looked around the huge two aisles of merchandise. There was cloths, hair pieces, lap tops, mini arenas... "This," he smiled, "Is the heaven of Angelic Layer. And that," he pointed to the very center display, piled to the brim with the same eggs that he had had. "Is where your journey begins."  
  
Hitomi carefully, as if they were a pit of snakes and she did not want to disturb them, walked over to the eggs, and gently picked one up. "What does it do?" she asked quietly, almost feeling a pulsing in her hands.  
  
"From that," Icchan smiled, "You can build your own Battle Angel. You can fight with her and she'll be like your partner." he put his hands on her shoulder. "Your thoughts are her commands."  
  
Hitomi still looked confused. Icchan rolled his eyes, slightly, "Look at the TV." This was the first time that Hitomi had noticed the TV at the end of the aisle. People on it were fighting. They were wearing strange clothes and trying to beat each other up. There was a small one and a huge one. "See that fight?" he asked. "Those are angels."  
  
"Who cares?" Hitomi said, almost putting down the egg. "The little one is going to get crushed. It's obvious." She sighed. "It's always like that." She looked at the small one. She had short, uneven red hair and a red and gold fighting suit. She was so small compared to the other one. Hitomi turned around, slightly.  
  
Hitomi heard the announcer, "And I think this is it folks!" Hitomi turned back to the TV. "YES IT IS, IT'S THE ROLLING THUNDER!" The little angel spun in the air and her legs catapulted the big Angel out of the arena. The little angel had won!  
  
"And another victory for Deus, Misaki Suzuhara, age 18." Hitomi saw the girl. She was small too, just like her angel. She ran over to the other deus and asked if her angel was hurt. She was so caring. Hitomi kept watching the TV as she held the Egg in her hands. Her hands vibrated, as if the pulse of the egg had picked up.  
  
"I want to be like her." she said softly. She stared at Misaki smiling at her fans and telling the other deus that they'd fight again for a rematch. Her angel sat peacefully in her arms, and Misaki hugged her. She wanted to do that. To outdo the odds! To prove to everyone that it's not what's on the outside that counts, but the spirit inside. "Icchan!" she yelled and Icchan looked at her, puzzled. "I've decided!" she turned around to face him, and grinned, "I'm going to play Angelic Layer!"  
  
*** As Hitomi walked back to the curb with a bag full of stuff she wondered how she had ended up spending all of her allowance for the past 6 months. Now she remembered. ***  
  
"Well," Icchan smiled at her. "You'll need this," he handed her a computer, "And this," he handed her a home layer, "And this, and this, and this and this!" he started pelting her with things that she would need to play the game such as hair pieces, angel cords, and so much more.  
  
"That's a lot of stuff!" Hitomi yelled over the mile high pile of things she had in her arms.  
  
"NOW LET'S PURCHASE!" Icchan yelled pointing at the register.  
  
"YEAH!" Hitomi cried as well as she ran over to the check out stand to buy her things.  
  
"THERE HE IS!" a woman with a small bag shouted, pointing at Icchan as Hitomi bought her things. "THAT MAN FOLLOWING THAT MIDDLE SCHOOL SENIOR! I THINK HE'S CRAZY!"  
  
Quickly, security had surrounded Icchan. "Let's go you degenerate!" Security grabbed Icchan and started carrying him away.  
  
"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?" he yelled as they carried him off in a straight jacket, "I'M PERFECTLY SANE!"  
  
After Hitomi had finished paying for all her things and had them all tucked safely in a bag she noticed that Icchan was not with her. (Big surprise ^_^;;) "Icchan?" she asked. She then noticed it was already 4:20. "I'd better get to the curb though." she smiled as she walked out of the store. "I'll just look him up in the phone book or something if I have any questions."  
  
*** Now she was just walking towards the curb and as she turned the corner she saw,  
  
"MOM?" she yelled. She then backed off as her mother was looking very upset.  
  
"I called Kanako and Ikiko's moms," she said bitterly, her face was red, "It seems they left for home about an hour and a half ago." Hitomi looked down at the ground. "Were you out all by yourself?" she asked.  
  
Hitomi wanted to tell her that she was with Icchan, but she knew her mother wouldn't want her hanging out with some strange man in a lab coat and glasses. "Yeah," she said fiddling with her feet.  
  
"Do you know what could have happened to you?" she yelled a Hitomi.  
  
"But, Mom," Hitomi started.  
  
"Not buts!" she yelled. "Get in the car." Hitomi's eyes started to water as she got into the car. Her mother sighed and rolled her eyes. She then turned Hitomi around and looked her in the eye. "Next time you do this you're so grounded." she smiled.  
  
Hitomi's face lit up, "Thanks Mom!" she laughed and hugged her.  
  
*** "So," Hitomi and her mom had started down the road towards her house, "What did you buy?"  
  
"Oh look!" Hitomi smiled as she took out her angel egg from her pink Piffle Princess bag.  
  
"An egg?" Hitomi's mom looked at it through the rear view mirror.  
  
"An Angel Egg." Hitomi corrected her. "You should know Mom, I mean, you are the anchor of Good Morning Japan!"  
  
"Co-anchor," her mother corrected her. "Shuoko is my Senior remember?"  
  
"Yeah," Hitomi sighed.  
  
"But you know," Hitomi's mom smiled, "Angelic Layer stars are really popular now a days."  
  
"Really?" asked Hitomi. She looked at her egg and felt it's smooth glass surface.. "I'm going to be a star too." she sighed quietly.  
  
"Yeah," Hitomi's mom said, "But a million others want to be stars too. You'll have to beat a whole lot of people to get to the top."  
  
"I'll work hard," Hitomi smiled. "For my Angel."  
  
*** The minute Hitomi got home she ran into her room to open her parcels. She ran fast through the halls, so fast that she ran into her older brother, Tasuki, making them both fall to the ground.  
  
"Watch it squirt!" he yelled. Tasuki was a Junior in High School. His ebony hair matched Hitomi's but he had his father's hazel eyes, while Hitomi had her mother's blue ones. He had already changed out of his uniform into a sleeveless top and shorts.  
  
"Are you going out again?" his mother asked as she sat down in a chair.  
  
"C'mon Mom," Tasuki persisted, "I want to make my Basketball team, don't I?"  
  
"Alright, alright," their mother huffed and walked into the kitchen as Tasuki ran outside with his basketball.  
  
"Basketball is so pointless," Hitomi put up her nose and ran into her room. Her room shone of her favorite color, sky blue. She had blue walls and a sky for a ceiling, painted with sponge clouds. Her bed was decorated with a blue bed spread and her white frilly pillows. Behind the bed was a bulletin board with all of her friends pictures on it. Her furniture was painted white and the carpet was a pretty blue with a white and blue striped rug. Hitomi heaved herself onto her bed and took out her angel egg to start. She quickly read the directions from the booklet attached, "Your Angel is filled with a shock absorbent liquid," she read, "Open it in a bathroom or someplace with a drain."  
  
Quickly Hitomi ran to her bathroom and carefully opened her angel egg. The turquoise goo flowed out of the egg and she took a look at her angel. It was really skinny and had a lot of joints showing. It was actually kind of scary but she didn't want to admit that. "Next direction," she looked at the booklet. "After the doll is removed from the egg, carefully wash the shock-absorbent liquid off with warm water." Hitomi held the angel under the sink as the warm water flowed down on it. "Done!" she smiled and ran back into her room, still reading the instruction booklet.  
  
"Next I need to give her hair," she smiled and looked at all of the choices Mr. Icchan had picked out for her. She looked around at all the colors. They were all the same style but there was every color imaginable. There were so many, but she could only use one. She would pick one and return the rest back to the store for a refund. After debating and debating for over a half an hour she narrowed it down to the final three colors, Sky blue, Silver, and Lavender. Sky blue would be a cliché as everything in her room was that color. She discarded that. Lavender would look odd, she wanted her Angel to be intimidating. So, by process of elimination Silver was the one.  
  
She made the style into a bun at the top of the angel's head and a short ponytail of silver hair. She also gave her angel bangs, to make her look more intimidating. "So cool!" Hitomi squealed, as her Angel started to come together in her hand. "Next," she set up her computer as the booklet told her too. She took two rings from the packaged. "Okay," she smiled, "These go here." She put the two rings on a platform and one magnetically rose making a colored tube. Hitomi gasped with delight. "And now," she looked at the final set of instructions, "I put her in here and choose her parameters and emphasis."  
  
This was the toughest part. This would actually determine how her angel would do in Angelic Layer. She remembered Misaki's angel. It was built on the emphasis of speed, but Hitomi didn't want to be a copycat. And anyway, she wanted this Angel to be a force to be reckoned with. But still, she wanted this to be a small angel. She quickly put in small parameters. She would defy the odds. Her emphasis was on Power. A bit of power was sacrificed because of her small size but her speed went up a small bit. Hitomi would show everyone that size and appearance doesn't matter. It's what's inside that counts.  
  
Sure of herself, Hitomi pressed the big blue ENTER key. On the screen is flashed, "PICK A NAME FOR YOUR ANGEL." Hitomi sat long and hard. She had completely forgotten that her angel needed a name. What would she name her? She stared all around her room for inspiration. She stared at books for inspiration. She looked at her favorite shows for inspiration. But nothing came to her until finally, she got it. The perfect name. The name that would be the name of the next Angelic Layer Champion.  
  
"IKAYA." she typed and pressed enter one last time.  
  
Out of the tube came Ikaya, only this time she had eyes, a nose, and mouth. Hitomi stared in awe at her creation and then yelled at the top of her lungs, "YES! I'VE DONE IT!" she stared at Ikaya lovingly, "I've made an Angel."  
  
*** Yes! Completed! So Ikaya's been created, but what about her armor and other such things! Tune in next time, for Battle 3! Hitomi's first battle! Will she survive? Find out! Please keep reading and reviewing! 


	3. New Allies, and New Enemies

"Hitomi?" Hitomi's mother opened Hitomi's door, where she saw her diligently sewing on the floor. "It's almost midnight, are you done yet?"  
  
"Yeah mom!" Hitomi laughed as she fitted her armor onto Ikaya, "Look!"  
  
Hitomi's mother smiled. Out of the Angel armor cloth from the toy store Hitomi had made a very lovely outfit for her angel. The silver haired angel wore a white shiny top with no sleeves, that went all the way up her neck, yet didn't cover her belly button. It had a large, green, elevated circle in the middle of it. She had a pair of green armor pieces on her wrists and knees. On her hands was a pair of white gloves with green tips on the fingers and tops. She wore a white pair of shorts that went halfway down her thighs, and there was only a small view of skin before it met a pair of long white boots. On her feet were a pair of large green, armored shoes that sparkled in the light of Hitomi's room. From the back of the top came two large skinny cloth pieces that stuck out for a short while, then folded over. The ends had pointed tips and a green, elevated circle was on each of them. Hitomi's mother smiled at the large green bow Hitomi had put in her angel's hair, and waist, and from the bow in her hair came a pair of green angel cords with small, points at the ends.  
  
"It looks great," Hitomi's mom beamed and gave back Ikaya to Hitomi.  
  
"It's a her, Mom," Hitomi huffed, "Not an it!"  
  
"What did you name her?" Hitomi's mom asked, rolling her eyes.  
  
"Ikaya." Hitomi eyes twinkled at the sound of the name.  
  
"She's lovely," Hitomi's mom laughed, "But now it's time for bed."  
  
Hitomi pouted. She had wanted to play with Ikaya a bit more, but her fatigue took over and she got into bed. She placed Ikaya on her night-stand and kissed her goodnight. Hitomi's mother did the same to Hitomi and she then turned out the lights.  
  
"Good night," Hitomi whispered to Ikaya, "my destiny."  
  
*** That morning Hitomi ate her breakfast at an alarmingly fast rate. Her mother and Tasuki watched her with an odd expression. "Don't choke," Tasuki teased.  
  
Hitomi shot him a look, "Only when I see you."  
  
"Now, kids," their mother gave them a warning look and they both returned to their food. "So," Hitomi's mom started to clear the dishes as Hitomi started to pack up her backpack. "Why the rush?"  
  
"I want to catch the daily Angelic Layer Morning Match at the Mall Square!" Hitomi swallowed the last of her food and started to clear her plate. "I might as well watch the pros fight," she turned off the water after the plate was clean and placed it in the dishwasher, "After all, Ikaya and I are going to be one's someday."  
  
"I see that you'll be a modest champion," Tasuki smirked. "When you do make it big, can I tell people that I'm your brother? It would be such an honor."  
  
Hitomi fumed at him and was about to explode when her mother, spotting danger, stepped in, "How is your angel going?"  
  
"I've finished all of her," Hitomi smiled, regaining her sunny disposition. "I can't wait to start practicing,"  
  
"Are you going to show your friends?"  
  
Hitomi paused, "No," she said. Tasuki did a spit take with his miso soup.  
  
"What?!" he yelled. "You share everything with your little "group!" "  
  
Hitomi shot him a death look but then returned to her backpack. "I just want something to be special for only me." she stated plainly, "Something different."  
  
Hitomi's mother smiled. "All right," she said. "But you better get your butt to school. I'll start the car."  
  
*** After what seemed like forever, Hitomi arrived at the Mall and ran to the main square. She couldn't wait! When she got to the square she saw hundreds of people, some with their angels, watching the match. It was already a minute into it, but Hitomi managed to squeeze through the crowd with Ikaya to see the screen. When she finally got a good look at the screen, she gasped!  
  
It was the Legendary Lightspeed Suzuka vs. Angel Zefie! Suzuka led by legendary 5th grader, Hatako Kobayashi! Suzuka was dressed as a female ninja with a fish net body stocking under her huge sleeved leather outfit. She had a short black skirt on and long black boots and gloves. Her blue hair was put into a high ponytail where a bell hung, a disguised angel cord.  
  
Angel Zefie was a veteran angel, and had made it to the Nationals last year. Her deus was a girl that looked to be a year older than Hitomi, in a red and black uniform. Zefie, however, had long white hair that reached the ground and a long white skirt. She wore a baggy white tank top with long flowing sleeves starting at her elbows. From her neck two white angel cords protruded.  
  
So far Zefie was at 60% health, while Suzuka was at 75%. Zefie looked tired but Suzuka was keeping her cool. Zefie's deus was looking scared, while Hatako remained calm. Out of no where, Zefie charged at Suzuka. Zefie jumped into the air and with her leg extended, fell towards Suzuka. Rapidly she began to spin in a circle, again, and again, and again.  
  
"THIS IS IT FOLKS!" the announcer cried, "ANGEL ZEFIE'S AURA KICK!"  
  
Hitomi gasped, "LOOK OUT!" she yelled to Suzuka. People turned to look at her, but Hitomi was too busy watching as Suzuka, in a flash of light grabbed Zefie's leg and threw her across the layer. In a spectacular crash, Zefie's damage gauge went to 0 immediately! Suzuka, without lifting a finger, had won the match! "YES!" Hitomi yelled loudly, and, she could have sworn that she saw Ikaya smile faintly as well.  
  
***  
  
Although Hitomi didn't want her friends to know she played Angelic Layer, she brought Ikaya to school. Throughout the entire day she kept Ikaya in her desk, making sure no one else saw her. During lunch she kept her in her backpack and when people asked her about what she was always fiddling with under her desk, she made up lies, like she had lotion, or was reading a book.  
  
By the end of the day, Hitomi was exhausted from hiding Ikaya. As she said goodbye to each of her friends, she remembered that she had told her mom that she was going to Piffle Princess to practice with Ikaya. Angelic Layer was really popular at her school, so she had done some eavesdropping and had found out how to practice while not at home. Since her mom knew where she was going, she had approved of it, but not with much enthusiasm.  
  
"Goodbye!" Kanako yelled to Hitomi as her car drove off. Hitomi waved and waved and waved, until finally Kanako's car turned the corner. The minute Kanako was out of sight, Hitomi started walking down the street. She gingerly opened her backpack and took out Ikaya. As she walked down the street toward the Training Center, she wondered about Angelic Layer.  
  
"I wonder how I'm going to make Ikaya move on the Layer like on TV," she thought. She then stared down at Ikaya, and smiled, "But no matter what I'm sure that you'll come through for me." Hitomi held Ikaya close to her, "We'll do just fine,"  
  
"ICCHAN GO BOOM!" Hitomi jumped a foot as Icchan came flying down from a telephone pole, attached by a telephone wire, and flying in the air like a bird. He swooped down at pointed at her, while still in midair. "WHAT WAS THAT, YOUNG LADY?" Hitomi looked at him oddly, "GETTING CUDDLY WITH OUR ANGEL I SEE?" Icchan put on a dreamy voice, "Oh Ikaya, I know you'll come through for me! I wuv you!" Hitomi started to back off from Icchan. He quickly caught this, "WHAT'S THE MATTER? COME ON!" he unlatched himself from the wire and laughed, "People with a sense of humor call it sarcasm." He faintly smiled, "Haven't used that line in a while."  
  
Hitomi's head went on its side, "What do you mean?"  
  
"N-nothing!" he quickly covered, "Uh...wonderful weather we're having!"  
  
"You bet," Hitomi smiled as they began to walk down the street. Icchan sighed a sigh of relief.  
  
"So how's your angel coming along?" he asked as they crossed the street.  
  
"I've finished her!" Hitomi smiled, pulling out Ikaya.  
  
Icchan took Ikaya in his hands, gingerly, and looked her over, "You did a great job." Icchan looked over her frame, "That's odd," he looked at Ikaya's joints skeptically.  
  
"What?" Hitomi asked, looking over Icchan's shoulder.  
  
"She's a lightweight model," Icchan began, still turning over Ikaya in his hands. "But she's built for power,"  
  
"Yeah," Hitomi said, "What's wrong with that?"  
  
"Nothing," Icchan started to bend the legs, "It's just that usually heavyweight angels are power, and lightweight angels are speed." Icchan smiled and handed Ikaya back to Hitomi, "Not the other way around."  
  
"Parameters don't matter," Hitomi said sternly, "It's all about the heart that a deus puts into their angel."  
  
"You've already learned Step one of Angelic Layer," Icchan smiled and patted Hitomi on the head. "So," he said as they turned the corner. "What did you name her?"  
  
"Ikaya."  
  
"That's a good name," Icchan looked down at her, "You're like her but different,"  
  
"Like who, Masamichi?" Hitomi turned around to see the most annoying boy in her homeroom coming towards her, Sanosuke Korato. She hated the way his untidy brown hair was always messy, and how his blue eyes matched hers. "Who're you talking to?"  
  
"Mr. Icchan," Hitomi huffed and turned around, "Mr. Icchan meet, WHAT??!!" Hitomi realized that Mr. Icchan had disappeared, from right behind her.  
  
"Looks like you're losing your mind, Masamichi," Sanosuke laughed. But he wouldn't have laughed if he had seen Icchan scurrying into a nearby tree. Hitomi huffed.  
  
"If you're just here to bag on me," she turned her nose upward, "Then you can leave." She turned on her heal and started to storm the other way.  
  
"Hey, wait up Masamichi!" Sanosuke yelled to her, and, being the Captain of the Track team, he quickly caught up with her. "What's that in your hand?" he pointed to Ikaya, still in Hitomi's hands. Hitomi quickly tried to hide her.  
  
"Nothing," She started, but Sanosuke had already seized Ikaya from Hitomi. "Hey give her back!"  
  
Sanosuke was looking at Ikaya strangely, "I didn't know you played with dolls, still, Masamichi," he scoffed.  
  
Quickly, Hitomi snatched Ikaya back, and stuck out her tongue, "IKAYA IS NOT A DOLL! She's an angel, Mr. I Know Everything About Nothing!"  
  
"You like Angelic Layer?" Hitomi turned around rapidly, as she heard another voice, but this time she smiled. It was Kimiko Korato, Sanosuke's twin sister. Hitomi and she were friendly acquaintances, and they had Physical Science and History together. Hitomi always was interested by Kimiko's long curly, died dark blue hair and black eyes, wondering if her mom would let her dye HER hair. She had never approached Kimiko, as people almost always surrounded her. "You like Angelic Layer?" she asked again.  
  
"Y..yeah!" Hitomi sputtered out, looking at Ikaya, blushing at the fact that she had been caught staring.  
  
"Me too!" Kimiko smiled and dug into her backpack. After about a minute, she pulled out a pink, Piffle Princess Pouch, and unzipped the zipper. With great carefulness, she pulled out a beautiful, blue Angel. "Her name is Spira!" Kimiko smiled. "She's a speed type, lightweight!" Hitomi could tell why. Spira was short, thin and had long legs. She was a bit taller than Ikaya but not much. Her hair was blue, like her deus's, but a lighter, electric blue. It was short, only to her shoulders, but shined brilliantly. She had a ponytail of hair on the top of her head that went down to her mid-back, and from the gray band that she kept it in, two shining silver angel cords came down. Her outfit astounded Hitomi. She wore a blue bikini top with silver ruffles on her chest. She also wore a short blue skirt around her hips that started just below her navel. On her elbows there were blue sleeves that held onto her arms with elastic. She had silver flowering sleeves coming from her shoulders, and she wore ten silver rings, one for each finger. On her feet were a pair of blue sandals, and gray knee-high stockings.  
  
"She's beautiful," Hitomi breathed, looking at the glamorous angel. Although Spira was beautiful, she quickly snapped out of her trance, in order to show off Ikaya. "This is my Angel," she handed her gently to Kimiko. "She's built for--"  
  
"Power," Kimiko cut her off.  
  
Hitomi was stunned, "How...could you tell?"  
  
Kimiko smiled, "When you're as into Angelic Layer as I am, you can tell at a glance." She gave Ikaya another look, "But it's strange."  
  
"I know," It was Hitomi's turn to cut Kimiko off, "She's a lightweight, but she's built for power. I just made her that way," she huffed, "It doesn't matter about parameters, it's the heart of the deus and angel that makes a winning team."  
  
"I wasn't going to say that," Kimiko smiled, and Hitomi looked at her oddly, "It's that it doesn't seem she's ever been in a battle."  
  
Hitomi blushed, "Well, you see," she laughed, "I'm just a newbie. I've never even played." she turned toward the street, "I was just on my way to go practice."  
  
"Well then you can practice with us!"  
  
"Really, Korato-san?"  
  
"Please, call me Kimiko!"  
  
"All right, Kimiko-Chan!"  
  
"Oh, Hitomi-chan, you and I are going to have so much--"  
  
"EXCUSE ME!" Sanosuke screamed at the top of his lungs to stop the girl's "powwow". After a couple seconds of silence, he finally spoke, "What do you mean us?" he gave Kimiko a reproachful look.  
  
"Like you don't want to come," Kimiko eyed him, smirking, "I so know that you're a huge fan of Angelic Layer. You're always watching the matches at the mall." she shrugged playfully, "I don't see why you just don't buy your own angel!"  
  
Sanosuke blushed and Hitomi giggled. Seeing Hitomi, he quickly retained his jaunty air, "So I may have glanced at a match or two while I was passing, that DOES NOT make me a huge fan!" he breathed heavily and turned on his heals, "Everyone knows Angelic Layer is for girls."  
  
"Not true!" a shout stopped Koutaro in his tracks as they heard the voice billowing from behind them. Hitomi was forced to turn one last time around to see a girl and boy, both with white blonde hair and stunning green eyes on the curb. It had been the boy that had spoken. He had his hair slicked back with some sort of gel and was wearing the Eriol Academy High School Blue Uniform. The girl that was with him had her hair in an untidy short ponytail and was wearing the Eriol Academy Middle School Green Uniform. Around the girl's neck was a camera and Hitomi noticed this girl from her Homeroom class. She sat next to her. Megumi Tendo. "So not true!" the boy yelled again. Hitomi guessed he was a Sophomore.  
  
"Who are you?" Sanosuke asked, looking at him indignantly.  
  
"Keiichi Tendo," he introduced himself. "Junior at Eriol Academy High School." Hitomi had been a year off.  
  
"And I'm Megumi Tendo," Megumi introduced herself cheerily. "Eighth Grade at Eriol Academy Middle School."  
  
"And what you said about Angelic Layer being only for girls," Keiichi sifted through his bag, "Well then what's THIS?" with a flourish he pulled out what seemed to be a streak of green, but when Hitomi looked closer, she saw it was an Angel.  
  
A male angel, at that. Hitomi knew they were sold, but they were rarer, and more expensive. Hardly ever seen. This one was tall and well built. He had pale skin, and long blonde hair that reached his shoulders. He had long bangs, and around his neck was a forest green choker, with an angel cord hanging from it. On his arms were long flowing green sleeves that were connected to long see-through green trench coat. He wore baggy camouflage pants, and a sleeveless green shirt that went up to his neck. He had black combat boots, and green fingerless gloves. He wore green see-through goggles over his eyes, which were closed serenely. "His name is Danichi," Keiichi brought Hitomi back to reality. "He's a heavyweight, built for Defense."  
  
"He's SOOOO cool!" Kimiko squealed looking at him.  
  
"I agree, he IS cool," Hitomi smiled, fawning over Danichi as well.  
  
Quickly Kimiko pulled out Spira, "This is my Angel!" she put her forward. "She's a lightweight, built for speed."  
  
"And this is Ikaya," Hitomi smiled, pulling Ikaya out. "A lightweight, built for power!"  
  
Keiichi looked at Hitomi oddly then smiled, "I see that you believe in your angel, and not in its parameters."  
  
"You bet!" Hitomi smiled.  
  
"See, Sano?" Kimiko smiled, with hearts in her eyes, "Keiichi plays Angelic Layer, and he's way more of a guy than you'll ever be."  
  
Sanosuke grew red and gritted his teeth, "WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?"  
  
"Nah nah!" Kimiko stuck out her tongue.  
  
"Why you--"  
  
"And I'm the photographer for the Angelic Layer Monthly Newsletter!" Megumi interrupted their brawl, showing off her digital camera. She then walked over to Hitomi and smiled brightly, "Can I take a picture of Ikaya for the Newbie column?"  
  
"Sure--" Hitomi started but then stopped. She looked at Megumi strangely, "Wait," she looked Megumi down and up, "how'd you know I was a newbie?"  
  
Megumi smiled, "I just looked at your Angel," she said, "I can tell these sort of things."  
  
"Well," Kimiko threw her arm around Hitomi, "You can take a picture of her in action! We're going to the Piffle Princess Training Center to go practice! Want to come?"  
  
"Sure!" the brother and sister simultaneously said, and Sanosuke grumbled that he'd come along too.  
  
As the five walked away from the curb, laughing and talking, Icchan smiled, while still in the tree. "Step two of Angelic Layer learned," he grinned, "Finding good allies."  
  
*** Hitomi was overwhelmed when they got inside the practice center. It was pink, just like everything else associated with Piffle Princess, and there were a bunch of registers with Piffle Princess Employees behind them. Hitomi was so amazed at the huge room, that she didn't notice that her comrades had gone ahead. "Coming Hitomi?" Kimiko yelled to her.  
  
Hitomi quickly snapped out of it, "Eeek!" she squealed and ran to catch up.  
  
"We'd like to rent a practice center, please." Keiichi smiled. "An hour and a half session please."  
  
"Ah, I know you," the woman behind the desk smiled. "You're Keiichi Tendo, the winner of the Tournament we hosted last month."  
  
"Really Keiichi?" Hitomi became starry-eyed, "That's SOOOO incredible!"  
  
"Oh please," Keiichi rubbed the back of his head modestly, "It was a small tournament, only about 35 deuses."  
  
"Thirty five???!!!" Hitomi squealed. "That is the coolest!"  
  
"Ahh..." Keiichi smiled taking it all in. Megumi huffed and cut in.  
  
"One practice room please," she growled.  
  
"Card or Cash?" the cashier giggled.  
  
"Card?" Hitomi asked.  
  
"She means your Angel card," Kimiko commented. She opened her wallet and took out a pink lined card with an Angel Egg on the top of it that had the words, ANGELIC LAYER on it. On it, it had her name, KIMIKO KORATO, and her Angels Name, SPIRA. "Card," Kimiko handed the woman her card and the woman scanned it.  
  
"I'll be taking 300 points off your card, is that okay?" she asked. Hitomi froze.  
  
"YOU DON'T HAVE TO TREAT ME!" she quickly yelled to Kimiko. "I don't want you to lose points because of me!"  
  
"Oh please," Kimiko put the card back in her wallet after it was scanned. "300 points isn't even one battle," But Kimiko still noticed the worried look on Hitomi's face, "Hey, it's really okay Hitomi-chan."  
  
"Well..." Hitomi grimaced.  
  
Kimiko rolled her eyes, "Hey to pay me back, treat me to a Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Cone."  
  
Hitomi froze, smiling, "Your favorite Ice Cream is Mint Chocolate Chip?"  
  
"Yeah," Kimiko smiled.  
  
"Me too!" Hitomi laughed.  
  
"Well, then we'll have some together!"  
  
"You'll be in room 2," Kimiko turned around and took the key from the cashier.  
  
"Thank you ma'am," she bowed and Hitomi did the same.  
  
"C'mon, Mr. Modest," Megumi sighed and she pulled Keiichi by the ear into the practice room. Sanosuke rolled his eyes and trudged into practice room behind them.  
  
*** Hitomi gasped with delight at the practice room. It had a large layer in the middle of the room and couches were around the layer. Food was set out and a Kareoke machine was at the corner of the room. Kimiko quickly ran over to the layer and placed Spira on one of the seats. "I CALL DIBS WITH HITOMI!" she yelled and Keiichi huffed.  
  
"But I wanted to show her some new moves."  
  
"Too slow!" Kimiko stuck out her tongue. She smiled at Hitomi. "Quick Hitomi, put on your goggles."  
  
"Ri..right!" Hitomi stumbled and put down her bag on one of the couches. She took Ikaya in her hands and ran over to the vacant seat. She placed Ikaya on the layer and put the goggles that were attached to the layer on her head.  
  
"Now what?" Hitomi asked, puzzled.  
  
"Press the button on the side of the goggles," Kimiko instructed. Hitomi did so and gasped.  
  
"Wow, I can see something!"  
  
"Good, cause if you couldn't, it would be a waste of 300 points." Kimiko laughed. "Now take Ikaya in your hands." Hitomi picked Ikaya up gently. "Now I'm going to turn on the layer." Kimiko switched something under the table and a light force field appeared around the layer. Hitomi gasped. "Now watch me closely," Kimiko instructed. Every bit of Hitomi's attention was on Kimiko. Kimiko took a deep breath and threw Spira into the forcefield! Kimiko then looked like she was concentrating hard. The minute Spira was completely inside the force field, her eyes opened(they were blue) and she did a fantastic air somersault to land on the layer gracefully. Hitomi clapped.  
  
"That was amazing!" she laughed. "How can I do it?"  
  
Kimiko smiled, "To move your angel in Angelic Layer you have to think and visualize your angel's movements." Hitomi nodded, listening closely, "Now, you're going to have to throw Ikaya into the layer and imagine her landing on her feet."  
  
"All right here I go!" she took a deep breath and then threw Ikaya into the layer. Hitomi concentrated hard. She visualized Ikaya landing. She thought to Ikaya desperately, 'Land, land!' Ikaya entered the force field and opened her green eyes. Hitomi concentrated with all her might. Ikaya was falling, Hitomi didn't try a somersault or anything fancy, she just wanted her to land. 'Land, land!' she thought. Ikaya was getting close to the ground. Hitomi concentrated as hard as she could and...  
  
...she landed. Not very gracefully mind you, she had stumbled and almost tripped, but she had landed! Hitomi felt great. Her first practice and she could already make her angel land inside the layer.  
  
"Great job!," Kimiko smiled. "Now, I'll yell out commands and you have Ikaya do them."  
  
Hitomi nodded and refocused her attention back to the layer. "Punch Right!" Kimiko yelled, Hitomi concentrated and Ikaya did the action. "Kick Left!" Another move executed. "Run!" Ikaya ran around the layer, "Jump!"...  
  
After about an hour and fifteen minutes Ikaya had gotten used to basic layer movements, punching, kicking, running, jumping, aerial attacks, and Kimiko had even showed her some new moves. "Thanks Kimiko," Hitomi smiled. "This was really great help for Ikaya and me."  
  
"Don't mention it," Kimiko smiled, "You've got a knack for this game too. I've never seen a deus get used to Angelic Layer so fast," she paused, "Except her..."  
  
Hitomi looked at the befuddled look on Kimiko's face. "Her who?" she asked.  
  
"Misaki Suzuhara," Keiichi cut in, "Deus of Hikaru."  
  
"HIKARU!?" Hitomi squealed. "She's the reason I built Ikaya!"  
  
"Really?" Megumi asked, "Can I put that in the column?"  
  
"Yeah!" Hitomi smiled, "She taught me to defy the odds, and it doesn't matter what your parameters are, or your emphasis," she hugged Ikaya closely, "It's all about the heart of the deus and the angel."  
  
"Aww...how sappy," The five heard a harsh voice from behind them and they wheeled around. In front of them were three girls, wearing blue and golden uniforms. They looked to be Sophomores in High School, and they didn't look friendly. The one who had spoken, was in the middle of the three. She had long black hair in a ponytail and was VERY tall. Almost 6"1'. Her green eyes were looking menacing. The ones next to her looked like her flunkies. The one to her left had dark brown hair in braids, had hazel eyes, and wore a big blue bow on the top of her head. The one to the tall girl's right, had short blonde hair, with a small bon-bon ponytail on the right side of the top of her head. "Oh please," the black haired girl snorted, "Only losers think that."  
  
Hitomi grew red in the face and got furious, "That's not true!" she yelled. "Look at Hikaru!"  
  
"Hikaru's got skills," the girl smirked, "You...hmmm...what's the word I'm looking for," she taunted Hitomi, "oh yeah! Don't."  
  
Hitomi was REALLY angry now. She was ready to punch the girl right in the face, when Keiichi, sensing danger, stepped forward.  
  
"Our time is not up," he said flatly, "Please leave."  
  
"But you left the door open for us, so courteously," the girl laughed. She pointed to the open door.  
  
"No, we didn't!" Megumi said, astonished. "I remember that I locked the door! They lock automatically!"  
  
"But my paperclip here," the girl held up a bent paperclip. A lockpick, "Says otherwise."  
  
"We heard that Keiichi Tendo is practicing in here," the blonde girl finally spoke, "And Akari-chan wants to challenge him to a match."  
  
The black haired girl, now revealed as Akari smirked, "Not like you'll last more than five minutes," Akari made her way over to Keiichi and seductively pushed his chin up with her fingers, "So," she smirked, "How about it?"  
  
"No," he said, quite frankly.  
  
"What?" Akari backed off.  
  
"It states in the rules of Angelic Layer, that a match must be confirmed by both deus's, or the pursuer of the match may be suspended from Angelic Layer," he said, keeping a straight, poker face.  
  
Akari looked flustered, even mad, until she noticed the rest of the group behind him. Her expression changed, and she smiled, "Maybe you'll be more willing, once I introduce myself and my friends to your..." she paused looking for the words, "Posse." Akari went over and shook Hitomi's hand, "I'm Akari, and she's Fuko," she pointed to the blonde girl, "And she's Usada," she pointed the brown-haired girl. "And you are?" she asked to everyone.  
  
"Hitomi Masamichi," Hitomi stared the girl down, she was still mad.  
  
"Kimiko Korato."  
  
"Sanosuke Korato."  
  
"Meg...Me...Megumi Tendo," Megumi finally spit out, and Akari smiled making her way over to Megumi. Hitomi watched her carefully. Although she and Megumi were the same age, she felt like an older sister to her.  
  
"Ahh...so you're wonder boy's sister?" Akari smiled and put out her hand. "Pleased to meetcha."  
  
Megumi was a little scared but she stuck out her hand all the same. They were about to connect...  
  
"GOTCHA!" Akari snapped the strap from Megumi's neck, causing her digital camera to fall onto the plastic floor...  
  
"MY CAMERA!" Megumi lunged for it, but it was too late. The camera had been smashed. The LCD was in pieces, and the lens was bent and cracked. Only the memory card survived. Megumi looked at it for a couple seconds, her eyes tearing up, and then she whispered...ever so silently..., "How could you?"  
  
Keiichi's face was burning. He sprinted over to Akari and held her up by the uniform collar, "YOU'RE GOING TO PAY FOR THAT! LITERALLY!" he pulled back his fist to punch her when Akari spoke.  
  
"How about we settle this in a match?" she smiled, "If I lose than I'll buy your sister a new and even better camera," she laughed, "But if you lose than I do nothing, and your sister has no camera."  
  
"I'll just tell the authorities," Keiichi insisted.  
  
"I'll just deny it," Akari smiled, "As will my girls. You have no proof, except your own word." Keiichi grimaced, "It's the layer or nothing."  
  
"All right," Keiichi threw her down, "I'll fight you."  
  
"Not alone you won't!" Hitomi butted in., "I'll fight too!"  
  
"And me too!" Kimiko stepped in.  
  
"Fine," Akari shrugged, "Us against you. Best two out of three."  
  
"I'll sign us up for structured battles," Fuko collected their angel cards with a smirk and went out the door.  
  
"I'll have to go with her," Hitomi said sternly, "I don't have an angel card yet, and I have to pay."  
  
Hitomi walked out the door, leaving the menacing group and ran for the register that Fuko was at. The cashier was scanning each of their cards and Fuko was telling her the right teams and match-ups. Hitomi stepped forward, "I'm in it too," she said to the cashier, "How much?"  
  
"250 yen please," the cashier smiled and Hitomi paid from her change purse. The cashier entered Hitomi's name and Angel name into the computer and she gasped. "Oh my!" she was delighted, "So many popular deuses. I simply MUST announce this over the intercom." Before Hitomi could say no the woman grabbed her microphone and started, "ATTENTION ALL DEUSES AND SPECTATORS! ATTENTION ALL DEUSES AND SPECTATORS! THERE IS A TEAM TOURNAMENT FIGHT ABOUT TO BEGIN IN TOURNAMENT ROOM C! I REPEAT, TOURNAMENT ROOM C!" Hitomi got a little nervous, knowing that people would actually be watching her match, "THE FOLLOWING DEUSES AND ANGELS WILL BE FIGHTING THERE TODAY. FIRST MATCH! HITOMI MASMICHI AND ANGEL IKAYA VS. USADA SABASHI WITH ANGEL KUNORAI!" People at first looked at the speakers oddly, wondering who Ikaya was, but when Kunorai was introduced, at least half the room got up to go watch. "SECOND MATCH!" the woman continued, "KIMIKO KORATO AND ANGEL SPIRA!" More murmurs from the crowd. More got up to go watch, "VS. FUKO HANABASHI AND ANGEL CHAN-CHAN!" A lot of boys blushed and ran to the tournament room. Hitomi pouted and Fuko smirked, "AND FINAL MATCH, POSSIBLY THE MOST EXCITING ONE OF ALL, KEIICHI TENDO AND ANGEL DANICHI," Hitomi sweatdropped when she heard every girl in the building squeal and stampede towards the tournament room, "VS. AKARI MORONE AND ANGEL RONSA!" A lot of people in the waiting room gasped and got up to go watch. Hitomi guessed that Akari was pretty well known. She smiled at the match-up. Good, she thought, Now he'll be able to get revenge for Megumi! Soon the entire waiting room was cleared out. Hitomi guessed everyone was at the tournament room.  
  
"Well," Fuko smirked, "Shall we go?"  
  
"Yeah!" Hitomi lowered her eyes and started to walk with Fuko into the Deus's entrance room. Fuko stayed a little in front of Hitomi, and Hitomi eyed her angrily every second.  
  
"By the way," Fuko turned around to face Hitomi. Hitomi had to stop herself on a dime to stop from running into Fuko, "Good luck."  
  
Hitomi froze and gave Fuko and odd look. Good luck? she thought. This girl was friends with one of the meanest people she had ever met. What in the world was going on?  
  
"Against Usada," she gave Hitomi a stern look, "You're going to need it."  
  
With that, Fuko turned on her heel and continued to walk down the hall. Hitomi looked at her, eyebrows raised. Was Usada really good? I mean, she seemed so timid, nothing like the usual champion type. Was she better than Ikaya and her? Hitomi lowered her head. She had only played for about an hour. Maybe she wasn't ready. Hitomi breathed deeply for a bit, then snapped back to her senses. 'No way!' she thought. 'It doesn't matter about experience! I mean, look at Misaki Suzuhara! She had almost 0 experience when she started Angelic Layer!' With that in her mind, Hitomi ran forward to catch up to Fuko.  
  
*** "FASTER OGATA, FASTER!"  
  
"SIR I'M GOING AS FAST AS I CAN!"  
  
"IF WE'RE NOT AT PIFFLE PRINCESS IN 5 MINUTES THEN I'LL KILL YOU!"  
  
"AHHHH! YES SIR!" Poor Ogata had been forced to take his psychotic boss to Piffle Princess, after rescuing him from the tree. But it was taking longer then most would have expected, as Ogata had no vehicle. Instead, Icchan had insisted that they hitch hike. Unfortunately, no one really WANTED to pick up a lab coat wearing, crazy glasses wearing man, and his assistant, so poor Ogata had been forced to jump on the top of cars. But even this was made worse, by the fact that Ogata had to jump to a different car almost every minute, as Icchan instructed. And the worst part was that Ogata had his crazy boss tied to his back. "Sir, can we PLEASE take a break?" the unfortunate assistant whined.  
  
"OF COURSE NOT, OGATA!" Icchan yelled, "I TOLD YOU, IF YOU'RE NOT AT PIFFLE PRINCESS IN 5 MINUTES THAN DEATH TO YOU!" he stopped and glanced at his watch, "MAKE THAT 4 MINUTES!"  
  
"AHHHH! I WON'T FAIL YOU SIR!" And the poor Ogata continued to jump from vehicle to vehicle...(You'd think he'd just quit...)  
  
*** Hitomi took deep even breaths, from her nervousness, in the waiting room, where Keiichi and Kimiko had joined her just moments before.  
  
"Don't have a spaz, Hitomi!" Kimiko laughed, "It's just a match."  
  
"But it's my first match!" Hitomi insisted, "And there are people watching!"  
  
"Well what would you have watching?" Keiichi smirked, "Furry creatures?"  
  
Hitomi blushed and Kimiko giggled, but after that she still saw that Hitomi was worried, "Don't worry!" Kimiko reassured her, "You'll kick butt for sure!"  
  
"Yeah..." Hitomi tried to assure herself, but she then remembered Fuko's words, 'Against Usada, you're going to need it.' What did that mean? Akari seemed to be the leader, so her Angel was probably the strongest, and Fuko was very out there, the perfect type for a powerful angel, but Usada, Usada seemed calm and reserved. She hadn't even talked during their first meeting.  
  
"AND NOW!" Hitomi was taken out of her trance by the booming voice of the announcer, "WE BRING YOU A TEAM MATCH OF GARGATUTAIN PORPORTIONS!" the entire hall cheered with excitement, and with a gulp, Hitomi could tell there were a lot of people.  
  
"Hitomi, you're on!" the next thing Hitomi knew, Kimiko had pushed her forward, and she was in the Tournament Room. Hitomi thought she was going to faint when she saw the amount of people watching. Almost every seat was taken, and there were almost 200 seats! Hitomi noticed that the layer was bigger than in the practice room, and that the seats were in the air and looked like giant eggs, with wings. Finally, after admiring the room she looked across the layer, and for the first time noticed Usada looking calm and serene with an Angel in her hands. It was dark at Usada's side so Hitomi couldn't see her angel clearly.  
  
"FOR THE FIRST MATCH!" Hitomi turned upwards to see a man in an egg seat as well, announcing from a microphone, "IN THE EAST CORNER, WE HAVE A VETERAN DEUS WHO'S A FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH, THE VIOLET DANCER, USADA SABASHI!" Many people in the hall cheered as Usada walked up to the layer, stepped inside the egg, put on her angel goggles, and floated upwards. Hitomi knew that no one in the room would know her name, and that when she was announced she would get any applause. She didn't really mind, but she would feel odd.  
  
"AND IN THE WEST CORNER, A NEWCOMER TO THE LAYER, HITOMI MASAMICHI!"  
  
Silence.  
  
Just as Hitomi had expected. She blushed and started to make her way up to the egg, when she heard a sound.  
  
Clap, clap, clap, "GO HITOMI! Whoop! Whoop!" Someone was cheering for her! But who? It was a girl's voice and it was coming from the left side of the auditorium! Hitomi tried to look around but she couldn't see well. Another girl and a boy joined in. "Hitomi! Whoop! Go Hitomi! Kick butt! SEND HER TO HELL YA LITTLE CUTIE!" People started to join in. It was like a disease, spreading through the audience, one by one! Soon the entire hall was chanting, "HITOMI, HITOMI, HITOMI, HITOMI!" Hitomi almost cried right there. With confidence, she jumped into her egg and thrust her goggles on. Whoever the girl who had started the cheer was, she sent her thanks to.  
  
Little did she know who the girl was...  
  
"That was really nice, Misakichi," Koutaro Kobayashi smiled.  
  
"YEAH!" Tamayo Kizaki, crazy Kung-Fu Master exclaimed, "I CAN IMAGINE A BOOK BEING WRITTEN ABOUT YOU!" Tamayo grabbed her friend by the shoulder and thrust her hand out, "The Champion Deus who helps Newbies achieve fans!" Waterfall tears began to fall from her face, "It makes me want to cry thinking about it! MARRY ME MISAKICHI!"  
  
"EEEKS!" the trademark phrase of Misaki Suzuhara escaped that very person's lips. Yes, the champion of the layer, Misaki Suzuhara had been the one started the cheer for the newbie Hitomi. "It was nothing really," Misaki grew red, "I just wanted to help her out. I know what it feels like to be a newbie."  
  
"But this girl," Koutaro looked down at her, "She seems confident."  
  
"Not confident," Misaki shook her head, "Faithful. She believes in her angel," Misaki looked down at Hitomi, who was rising into the air. "She's going to be a fierce fighter."  
  
"AS MOST OF YOU PROBABLY KNOW," the announcer continued, "ANGEL KUNORAI IS A BALANCE TYPE, LIGHTWEIGHT MODEL! SHE'S SO GRACEFUL SHE AND HER DEUS HAVE BEEN GIVEN THE NICKNAME THE VIOLET DANCER! THEIR MOVES EVEN RIVAL KAEDE SAITOU'S ANGEL BLANCHE!" The crowd cheered again, "BUT HERE'S SOME INFO ON ANGEL IKAYA!" the crowd cheered again and Hitomi burst with happiness, "THIS IS IKAYA'S FIRST SANCTIONED BATTLE! TOUGH LUCK SHE HAD TO GO AGAINST ONE OF THE LAYERS BEST DEUSES!" People still cheered, as if showing their support for Ikaya, "BUT IT SEEMS THAT THE CROWD DOESN'T CARE!" the announcer laughed, "IKAYA, A STRANGE ANGEL, IS A LIGHTWEIGHT BUILT FOR POWER!"  
  
The crowd murmured amongst themselves. "That's an odd choice," Tamayo scratched her head, "Aren't power types usually Heavyweight?"  
  
"It doesn't matter," Misaki smiled, "All you have to do is believe in your angel."  
  
"But does she have a chance?" Tamayo asked, "I mean she's going against Usada Sabashi! And that is NOT cool!"  
  
"Experience doesn't make any difference," Misaki insisted, "You should know that from me, Tamayo-chan."  
  
"I guess you're right," Tamayo blushed.  
  
"But still," Koutaro's face screwed up with concentration, "It's going to be a tough battle for her." Both girls looked at him oddly. He quickly began to explain, "You see, Kunorai is so light on her feet that she evade almost any attack, and can maneuver around the other angel in no time flat," his brow furrowed, "Ikaya might not be able to catch her."  
  
Misaki looked worried, while Tamayo refused to give up her cheery disposition, "YEAH RIGHT! IKAYA WILL FIND A WAY! After all," she grabbed Misaki and Koutaro by the necks, "SHE HAS THE TKM LEAUGE ON HER SIDE!"  
  
"T...K...M?" Misaki asked timidly, blushing.  
  
"Tamayo, Koutaro, and Misakichi of course!" Tamayo laughed. Koutaro just blushed.  
  
"Look!" Misaki shouted, making Tamayo drop them both, "The match is about to start!"  
  
It was true. Hitomi and Usada were both up in the air and had readied their angels. The announcer had gotten a nod from both of them, and then shouted to the crowd, "ANGEL START!"  
  
*** "WE'RE HERE!" Ogata breathed heavily as they reached Piffle Princess tournament room C. "And with 30 seconds to spare."  
  
"Ogata," Icchan's eyes lowered.  
  
"Yes Chief Mihara?"  
  
"I want you...to..."  
  
"Yes Chief?"  
  
"Get me a snowcone!" Icchan commanded and Ogata facefaulted.  
  
"I thought you needed something important..." He sighed.  
  
"SMART MOUTH ASSISTANTS WHO DON'T FOLLOW THEIR CHEIF'S ORDERS CAN TAKE TEN LAPS AROUND THE BUILDING!"  
  
"Who said that? Not me!" Ogata quickly ran off to find a snowcone.  
  
"IF YOU'RE NOT BACK IN 5 MINUTES I'LL PERSONALLY RING YOUR NECK!" Icchan yelled after him, but once Ogata was out of hear shot he turned to the layer. "Now, Hitomi, what have you got yourself into?"  
  
*** Back on the layer, Hitomi was shaking from head to toe. Her first match, and from what she had heard, Usada wasn't a pushover. Couldn't she have had an EASY opponent for her first battle? Was that too much to ask? But Hitomi had no time to pity herself, as Usada was already launching her angel into the layer.  
  
Kunorai gracefully glided down to the layer, not trying anything fancy, but her beauty and grace was more than enough to make up for it. Her feet touched the ground and Hitomi gasped at how beautiful she was.  
  
Kunorai was definitely a violet angel. She had long flowing violet hair and long purple skirt that went down to her ankles. On her chest was a purple spiked armor plate with spikes on the top of it, and light purple armor plates that outlined her "breasts". A single purple sphere hung from the plate and under it was a purple tank top that was connect to her neck by three strings, strung with purple beads. On her arms were two sets of flowing sleeves that had elastic banding that attached to her arms. She was a very skinny angel, and small too, about as small as Ikaya, maybe a little taller.  
  
Hitomi was overcome by the angel's beauty. It was the most beautiful angel she had ever seen. If SHE had made Kunorai, she wouldn't dare fight with her, afraid that her fragile and pale skin would be hurt. But, squinting at the layer she saw a small but VERY noticeable feature on Kunorai.  
  
She had bear ears! Purple bear ears at that. They protruded from her head out of her head, and were hard to see, but Hitomi could tell they were there. Also, she had bear paws as well! And bear feet! It was like she was part bear, part angel. It didn't take away from Kunorai's beauty, but it made Hitomi's eyebrow go up. The crowd who was cheering at the image of Kunorai on the screen above the layer, didn't seem to mind, so Hitomi assured herself that she wouldn't either. The crowd stopped cheering for Kunorai after a while, and Hitomi knew it was her turn to jump into the ring.  
  
Hitomi mustered up her courage, and swallowed the butterflies fluttering in her stomach. She took Ikaya in her palm and gently threw her into the layer below.  
  
Hitomi immediately concentrated hard and Ikaya flew down to the layer. Hitomi, again didn't try anything fancy, but when Ikaya hit the layer, she had her strike a fighting pose. Ikaya bared her fists and stood on tip toe, to show Kunorai, who was strangely standing limpy across the layer, that she meant business.  
  
"WELL," the announcer bellowed, "IT SEEMS THAT ANGEL IKAYA IS READY FOR A FIGHT! SHALL KUNORAI COMPLY?" The crowd cheered and Kunorai continued to stand still. The announcer, getting another nod of ready from both of them, raised his hand high in the air, "ANGEL BATTLE START!" a buzzer sounded as he brought his hand down, and Hitomi clenched her fists together.  
  
The first few seconds of the match were of dead silence. She's not moving. Hitomi noticed, after a second or two. I...I have to make the first move!  
  
Ikaya leapt forward and held her fist out to contact with Kunorai's face. Her fist was centimeters away from Kunorai's face, when Kunorai shifted her head with such grace, that Ikaya sailed over her. She's fast, Hitomi thought, but she retraced that thought, She's not THAT fast, she's just....graceful. I have to find a way to break her rhythm! Ikaya began failing punches at Kunorai, one after another, Kunorai continued to dodge them.  
  
"GAH!" Tamayo cried, "She's missing every punch! Kunorai is too fast!"  
  
"No," Misaki quietly said. Tamayo turned to Misaki slowly, "Kunorai is a balance angel. When she was made, her deus could either choose mostly power, or mostly speed." Misaki paused, "I can tell, from the way she's dodging, that Usada chose power." Tamayo gaped at Misaki. "I actually believe...." Misaki's forehead wrinkled, "That Miss Masamichi's angel has more speed than Kunorai."  
  
"But then why is Ikaya missing?!" Tamayo, not wavered, shouted.  
  
"It's because Ikaya has no grace," Koutaro spoke up and Misaki nodded.  
  
"Her deus is inexperienced, she only knows simple moves," Misaki stated, "She has not yet learned her angel's proportions or abilities. All she knows is brute force, and..." Misaki gave a worried sigh, "she cannot win like that."  
  
Meanwhile in the audience...  
  
Ikaya continued to throw punches and kicks at Kunorai, missing every time. "Every kick or punch she throws is throwing her off balance," Yuki looked worriedly at the match. "She needs a couple second to regain it. Miss Sabashi is waiting for the opportune moment."  
  
"What opportune moment?" Sanosuke asked, dumbfounded.  
  
"When Ikaya puts out the most force in a fit of frustration and completely loses all momentum." Yuki turned her gaze to Usada, who was looking at the match, unmoving. "I'm frightened."  
  
Hitomi was beginning to get worried. Why am I always missing? Even if Kunorai is fast, at least one of my punches should have made contact... What am I doing wrong? Ikaya threw another kick at Kunorai's face, only to have it dodged.  
  
"IT SEEMS IKAYA'S FORCE ISNT' ENOUGH FOR "THE VIOLET DANCER"! DEUS HITOMI MASAMICHI, HOW WILL YOU SURVIVE?"  
  
"Hitomi isn't realizing that brute force isn't enough," Kimiko sighed watching inside the waiting room on a TV in the corner.  
  
"Your friend can't win against Usada," Akari stated plainly.  
  
Kimiko glared at Akari, "Hitomi WILL win! She'll figure it out!"  
  
"I hope so..." Keiichi watched the Television grimly. "C'mon Hitomi..."  
  
*** What's wrong? What's wrong? WHAT'S WRONG!? Hitomi became disgruntled. She kept missing! Why? Kunorai just kept dodging and dodging! She WOULD hit her! In a fit of anger, Ikaya through a giant punch, one that would have knocked any angel out of the layer, only to have Kunorai move gracefully out of the way and have Ikaya fall completely over and roll across the layer!  
  
"WATCH OUT! IT'S COMING!" Yuki stood up and screamed from the audience.  
  
"HITOMI!" Icchan yelled from the stands. "WATCH OUT!"  
  
But it was too late. Kunorai turned on her heel and jumped into the air. She started to come down on Ikaya's frail body, still vulnerable on the layer. I have to get out of the way... But Hitomi was immobilized by fear. She couldn't move, she couldn't think. All she could do was scream, "IKAYA!"  
  
With the force of a ton of bricks, Kunorai came down on Ikaya, smashing her straight in the stomach. Groans were heard from the crowd as Ikaya's damage points dropped down to 40%. "OUCH THAT'S GOT TO HURT!" Hitomi heard the announcer say. "Kunorai came down like a dive bomb on poor Ikaya! Can she stand?"  
  
Hitomi gasped at the damage Ikaya had been given. Damage reports were coming up on her goggles. She felt tears form in her eyes. No...Ikaya....I didn't mean to get you hurt....maybe I should just give up...it would be best... for y--  
  
"DON'T GIVE UP MASAMICHI!" Hitomi turned around in her egg to see Sanosuke yelling from the stands, "IF YOU GIVE UP, THEN I'M GOING TO TELL ALL THE KIDS AT SCHOOL THAT YOUR A BIG WUSS WHO DOESN'T BELIEVE IN HER ANGEL! SO GET YOUR GOOD FOR NOTHING BUTT OUT THERE AND KICK THAT ANGEL ALL THE WAY FROM HERE TO HONG KONG!"  
  
Hitomi stared at Sanosuke for a second, confused, but then smiled warmly at him. She nodded and returned her attention to the layer. This isn't over Ikaya, get up! Let's go again! With much difficulty, Ikaya feebly stood, and Kunorai again remained still.  
  
"WOW, ANGEL IKAYA IS STANDING! NOT MANY ANGEL'S COULD STAND A DIVE BOMB FROM BALANCE POWER ANGEL KUNORAI!"  
  
Hitomi froze, You mean, she isn't emphasized on speed? Her balance is power? Then why did I keep missing if she's just as fast as I am? Hitomi remembered her last punch, how she had fallen over...because of excessive force! She had it figured out! Every time Kunorai dodge, because of all the force she had put behind Ikaya's punches and kicks, she had been thrown off and not had been able to counter fast enough. Well, I've figured it out, but now what? Hitomi thought long and hard until she finally thought of a plan and was ready to execute it.  
  
"Give up now!" Hitomi heard a small voice calling out to her. She looked across the layer to see it was Usada who had spoken. This was the first time Hitomi had heard her speak, and she noticed that her voice was small, but harsh at the same time. "You can't win, you might as well give up."  
  
Hitomi smirked, "NEVER! Ikaya and I will fight to the end, no matter how graceful or powerful your angel is!"  
  
"But you're going to lose!"  
  
"I believe in Ikaya, we WON'T lose!"  
  
"How can you believe in your angel, it's a bunch of mechanical parts and wires!"  
  
"No way!" Hitomi angrily stood up in her seat. "Angels have a soul! I know it!" Usada looked at her oddly. "Ikaya's got the soul of a loyal friend who doesn't care what others think of her! She'd never give up on me, and I'm not about to give up on her!"  
  
Usada looked at Hitomi for the longest time. "You're crazy! Angels aren't like that!" Hitomi saw something sparkle on Usada's face, and noticed she was crying. "HOW CAN SOMETHING LIKE A TOY HELP YOU AND BE YOUR FRIEND WHEN REAL PEOPLE CAN'T?!"  
  
Hitomi was taken aback by the comment. "Usada...." she whispered.  
  
"WHAT'S THIS?" the announcer yelled and Hitomi turned to the layer. Kunorai had turned around and was walking towards the crying Usada. Kunorai stopped inches away from the edge of the layer and held up her arms to Usada. Usada stopped crying for a second and looked down at the angel that wanted to embrace her deus. Usada looked at Kunorai and said quietly, "But how...?"  
  
"It's because you wanted someone to comfort you!" Hitomi said to Usada from across the layer. "You thought it and Kunorai reached out to you. She understands your pain, because she knows what your pain is." Usada looked up at Hitomi, dumbfounded, and Hitomi smiled, "She's someone you can talk to."  
  
"Understands my pain?" Usada looked down at Kunorai, whose arms were still outstretched, and smiled. "Let's go Masamichi, this match is far from over!"  
  
"Right," Hitomi smiled. Kunorai regained her silent stance and Hitomi decided that now was the best time to execute the plan. Ikaya struck another fighting pose and stared Kunorai down. Let's go Ikaya!  
  
In a sweeping motion, Ikaya ran forward and unleashed another punch at Kunorai. Kunorai did a sweeping left dodge and everyone gasped, but then, in another sweeping motion...  
  
Ikaya made a sideways punch that connected straight with Kunorai's face! The crowd cheered to see Ikaya make contact, but Hitomi ignored them. While Kunorai was off guard, Ikaya quickly did a sweeping kick that sent her sprawling across the layer. Then, with amazing force, Ikaya jumped up into the air and brought down the same dive bomb kick that Kunorai had used on her just minutes before! WHAM! And that brought Kunorai's damage gauge down to 20%!  
  
"WHAT A COMEBACK! ANGEL IKAYA HAS JUST USED THE SAME DIVEBOMB KICK AS KUNORAI TO BRING THE FRAGILE ANGEL DOWN TO 20% HEALTH! HOW WILL KUNORAI COMEBACK?!"  
  
The crowd cheered immensely and with only 2 minutes remaining on the clock, the tension was beginning to build.  
  
"I can't believe it!" Tamayo cheered, "She's like a mini Misakichi!"  
  
"Mini Misakichi?" Koutaro asked sweatdropping.  
  
"GO HITOMI, SEND YOUR OPPONENTS TO HELL! TKM IS ON YOUR SIDE!" Tamayo screeched through the hall, making Koutaro and Misaki fall over.  
  
Usada looked horrified at the events, then smiled, "I see you've found a little grace." she gripped the bar on her seat forcefully, "Fine! Then it's just you and me!" Kunorai then got up on her feet, and struck a fighting pose. Ikaya put up her fists and stood ready and waiting for the attack.  
  
"GO KUNORAI!" Usada yelled to the layer and Kunorai lunged forward, fist raised.  
  
"IKAYA!" Hitomi shouted and Ikaya followed suit, running towards Kunorai with her fist outstretched.  
  
"IT'S AN ALL OUT, NO TRICKS, FIST TO FIST SHOWDOWN FOLKS! KUNORAI HAS NO MORE TRICKS UP HER SLEEVE AND IKAYA DOESN'T SEEM TO EITHER! THE ONE WITH THE MOST FORCE WILL WIN THIS MATCH!"  
  
"KUNORAI!"  
  
"IKAYA!"  
  
In a split second the fists connected and both angels fell backwards onto the layer! Sparks flew and in a split second they were both sprawled on the ground.  
  
"MY GOODNESS! WHICH PUNCH MADE THE MOST CONTACT? LET'S SEE!"  
  
Everyone in the stadium turned to damage screen, where on the damage bars was the word, CALCULATING. The crowd held their breath, and Hitomi felt her heart stop. Then, so suddenly the results appeared.  
  
The hall burst into applause when they saw that Ikaya still had 5% health left, while Kunorai had been reduced to 0! Hitomi was so happy she almost cried. Usada looked down at the layer and shook her head. Both chairs lowered and Hitomi picked up Ikaya lovingly. "Thank you for doing such a great job for me Ikaya." Hitomi looked over to see Usada, on the brink of tears, holding Kunorai.  
  
"Ahh....," Tamayo sighed, "She's sad she lost."  
  
"No," Misaki interrupted her. She turned to Tamayo and smiled, "Those are tears of joy."  
  
"I'm sorry Usada," Hitomi finally said, when she had made her way over to Usada, "I'm sorry I hurt Kunorai."  
  
"That's all right," Usada looked up and she was smiling, but crying at the same time, "You're the better deus, you deserved to win!"  
  
Hitomi looked at her, stunned, "But you're a big shot deus around the Kanto region! You have way more experience then I do!"  
  
"But you believe in your angel," smiled Usada, "Even when there seemed no way to win, you still kept fighting!" Usada looked down at her lap. "I could never do that."  
  
"But I had help!" Hitomi insisted. Usada looked up at her, her eyebrows raised, "From my friends," Hitomi smiled, "Without them, I really WOULD have just given up."  
  
Usada did not smile, she just continued to cry and look down at her lap. Hitomi stared at her long and hard, "What's wrong?"  
  
"Remember during our fight when I said that dolls couldn't be your friends, when even people can't?" Usada wiped away her tears, and Hitomi nodded, "Akari and Fuko aren't really my friends. They just use me to win team matches and be their flunky." Usada's eyes became glassy, "I'm just a pawn. It all started when I won my first match." Usada's eyes glazed over, as if she was remembering the moment, "Akari and Fuko saw me, and asked me if I wanted to go to Akari's house with them to practice. At first it was fun," Usada laughed, "We swam, ate, played games, played with our angels. But then," Usada grimaced, "They started to get mean. They yelled at me whenever I didn't win a match, called me a lame player," Hitomi's fingers balled into fists, "I have no real friends. I've never had any real friends. I guess I started playing Angelic Layer to find some, but instead I found dictators, not friends."  
  
Hitomi looked at Usada sympathetically, then put her hand on her shoulder, "If you want, I can be your friend!" Usada looked up at her astonished.  
  
"You mean...even after all that Akari did?"  
  
"Yep!" Hitomi smiled, "Friends don't hold grudges!"  
  
Usada stared at Hitomi for a while, then smiled a huge smile, and followed Hitomi out of the room.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
FINALLY! Chapter three complete! God, I hated this chapter. It was TOO long! 24 pages on Microsoft Word. Oh well! You have a taste of the important characters, but the fun is only beginning!  
  
Next Battle: Kimiko vs. Fuko – The Gold Clad Warrior- Kimiko's Defeat?- Ready? ANGEL START!  
  
PS: For full views of all angels' armor visit my fanfiction page for the links! 


	4. The Gold Clad Warrior

Author's Notes: Hey everyone! Here's the fourth chapter, I hope you like it so far. I know I do.

As always, R&R! I love reviews! If you can, help me improve my writing! And also, I love compliments! Banzai! Enjoy!

I'm afraid to say that this story will remain on hiatus after the first of the year. But don't worry! I'll be sure to do more updating on this story once my other, more active stories finish up!

* * *

Chapter 4 – The Gold Clad Warrior

* * *

Hitomi ran into the team waiting room to be greeted with hugs by Kimiko and Keiichi. Her grin was uncontrollable, as if it was too big for her face. She had won her match for her team, and they were one step closer to beating down the bullies!

Speaking of bullies, Hitomi turned back to Usada, who was getting yelled at by Fuko and Akari.

"How could you lose to a newbie!" Akari spat.

"She's completely inexperienced, and she STILL beat you?" Fuko continued to shout.

"What kind of lame player are you?"

"I don't know why we're even frie--"

"That's enough!" Fuko and Akari stopped their rant to look over at Hitomi who was standing defiantly with Ikaya on her shoulder.

"What do YOU want?" Akari shot back at Hitomi.

"Stop picking on Usada, she did her best!" Hitomi shouted. "What kind of friends are you?"

Akari and Fuko stared at her with icy glares.

"What kind of people make a friend feel bad when she loses? A REAL friend would be there to help their friend get through the pain, not make it worse!"

Akari's eyes flashed for a moment, then went back to their dark menacing green, "This is none of your business. Butt out."

"I won't!" Hitomi smirked, "Because I'm sticking up for my friend, Usada!"

Akari and Fuko looked taken aback and stared at Usada with accusing eyes. "Usada," Akari asked, "Are you HER friend now?"

Usada stared at Akari for a while, looking frightened out of her wits. She turned to Hitomi for backup, but Hitomi just looked at her and said, "I've done my part, now is the time to stick up for yourself."

Usada at first looked hurt, but swallowed the words and turned back to Akari. Her eyes were defiant, "Yes."

"What!"

"You heard me, Hitomi is my friend now, and even though we've only been friends a short time, she's still a way better friend then you guys ever were! All you ever did was pick on me, and make me your lackey! Well I'm tired of it!" Usada slammed her foot on the ground. "I QUIT!"

Akari looked furious, "What do you mean quit!"

"Q-U-I-T!" Usada spelled out. "QUIT! I quit being your team mate, I quit being your goon, and I quit at being your friend!" With that, Usada stormed off to sit down on the chair near Hitomi's team's table.

Akari gave Usada a cold stare, "Fine, we don't need you."

"SECOND MATCH!" the announcer yelled and Fuko got up and started walking to the other side of the arena.

"See you there, Ki-chan," she laughed and walked off. Kimiko's temple throbbed at the stupid nickname.

"Ki-chan…" Kimiko snarled and got Spira ready.

"This time you will loose," Akari smiled. "Usada was nothing to Fuko."

"Fuko'll try to mess with your head Kimiko," Keiichi told her as she warmed up. "Don't let her get to you."

"Never." Kimiko gritted her teeth and got ready for the announcer to call her name.

"AND NOW DEUSES TO THE LAYER!"

Kimiko walked out, Spira on her hand to a raging crowd.

"THESE TWO DEUSES ARE AMAZINGLY GIFTED BUT STRANGELY ENOUGH HAVE NEVER FACED EACH OTHER IN THE RING!" Fuko smirked across the room, and Kimiko did not return the smile.

"OUR FIRST DEUS, FUKO HANABASHI, IS A VETERAN DEUS THAT HAS ALREADY MADE A NAME FOR HERSELF BY WINNING FIVE PIFFLE PRINCESS TOURNAMENTS! THE ONLY ONE TO OUTBREAK THE RECORD IS KEIICHI TENDO, WINNING SIX, WHO, AMAZINGLY ENOUGH, IS IN THE VERY NEXT MATCH!" Hitomi bit her lip. Keiichi had only bested Fuko with one tournament. She must have been good.

"OUR NEXT DEUS, ARGUABLY JUST AS POPULAR, IS KIMIKO KORATO, WHO HAS MADE QUITE A DECENT NAME FOR HERSELF BY WINNING TWO PIFFLE PRINCESS TOURNAMENTS!"

"Can she win?" Hitomi asked Keiichi, "Fuko seems to be more experienced."

"And the winner of the hypocrite statement of the month award is Hitomi Masamichi!" Keiichi laughed and Usada giggled.

"What's so funny?" Hitomi asked.

"You just beat me," Usada explained. "I myself have won four tournaments. That was just your first battle."

"I suppose but--"

"But nuttin'," Keiichi sighed. "Experience has nothing to do with who wins or looses, unless you let yourself get intimidated by your opponent's reputation."

Hitomi stared at the two, smiling, for just a bit, then laughed, "You're right. Let's watch Kimiko kick butt!"

Kimiko breathed deeply as she rode up in her egg to tumultuous applause. Her goggles were placed over her face and she stood ready for the battle. _If we can win this, the Megumi's camera is as good as replaced! _

Fuko smiled as she rode up in her egg, never taking her eyes off Kimiko. Kimiko remained stoic as the announcer started to announce the angels.

"FIRST OFF!" The announcer began. "ANGEL SPIRA AND DEUS KIMIKO KORATO!"

Kimiko breathed deeply and flew Spira down into the layer. Spira did a somersault and landed on the layer, just like she had with Ikaya.

"SPIRA, ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL ANGELS AROUND, A LIGHTWEIGHT BUILT FOR SPEED, IS COMMANDED BY THE DEUS, KIMIKO KORATO, AN EIGTH GRADER AT ERIOL ACADEMY MIDDLE SCHOOL. SPIRA'S BEEN PLAYING FOR ALMOST 2 YEARS NOW, AND HAS PROVED HER WORTH IN THE LAYER!"

As the crowd cheered, Kimiko rode up in her egg to face Fuko. Her eyes were blank, and she was ready for a fight.

"NOW, FOR FUKO'S HANABASHI'S ANGEL!" the announcer shouted and Fuko brought out her angel, "ANGEL CHAN-CHAN IS A REGULAR IN ANGELIC LAYER THAT ANY DEUS WOULD HATE TO MEET IN BATTLE! WITH A WIN/LOSS RECORD OF 4:1, NOT MANY CAN OVERCOME THIS BEAUTY! ANGEL CHAN-CHAN IS A LIGHT WEIGHT BUILT FOR SPEED AS WELL AS ANGEL SPIRA!"

Fuko blew kisses to all the cute boys in the audience and they blushed furiously.

"What a flirt," Tamayo scowled. "I hope she doesn't throw a kiss at you Koutaro-chan, I mean, you're taken."

Koutaro and Misaki blushed profusely, and Tamayo laughed hysterically at the two.

"Anyway," Misaki continued. "I've fought Fuko Hanabashi, and she's no easy opponent. Her angel's very strong, and she's a very strong Deus."

"Was she tougher then Hatoko, or Arisu?" Koutaro asked.

"No," Misaki smiled. "But she has the potential to be just as good, if not better."

Back on the floor, the match was about to begin, and Hitomi was biting her nails from her anxiousness.

"Chill, Hitomi," Keiichi said. "You won your match, so that gives us a bit of breathing room."

"Yeah, but," Hitomi started to pace. "I don't want Kimiko to loose!"

"There's no guarantee that she's going to," Keiichi smiled. "Stop worrying."

"You're right…Kimiko's good," Hitomi nodded. "But I'm still afraid that Fuko will try to mess with her head or something!"

"ANGEL BATTLE! ANGEL CHAN-CHAN VS. ANGEL SPIRA!" The announcer shouted. Kimiko and Fuko readied their angels.

Hitomi looked at her screen to get a good look at Fuko's angel. Angel Chan-Chan was colored completely golden. She wore a one-piece swim suit design armor that reached her neck and had holes in the front. She wore tall golden boots and long gloves that matched her flowing golden hair.

Hitomi sighed as she saw that Kuronai matched Chan-Chan in the fact that they both had an animal theme in their design. Chan-Chan's was obviously the rabbit. She had a pair of Golden rabbit ears and a golden rabbit fuzz tail. Her hands and feet were also designed to look like a rabbit. Chan-Chan seemed just as flirtatious as her dues, winking at Spira and leaning in provocative positions.

"FIGHT!"

The battle began, and Spira rushed forward, her leg extended. Chan-Chan smirked and moved out of the way of the kick. She made a speedy counter-attack, but Kimiko was ready and blocked with her forearm. Chan-Chan tried a sweeping kick, but Spira simply jumped over the kick and kicked Chan-Chan straight in the face!

"ANGEL CHAN-CHAN IS DOWN!"

"Yeah!" Hitomi cheered as the attack connected. "Kimiko got through!"

"Don't get cocky," Akari frowned in Hitomi's direction. "Fuko's messing with your friend."

"Huh?" Hitomi asked, her eyes wide at Akari's statement. "What do you mean by that?"

Meanwhile, back on the battle field, Spira continued to dominate the match. Chan-Chan threw a punch at Spira, only to have Spira grasp her arm and jump onto her shoulders, throwing her to the ground with the launch of her feet.

"ANGEL CHAN-CHAN IS DEFINITELY TAKING A BEATING OUT THERE FOLKS!" yelled the announcer. Many of the crowd members were cheering, others were booing that their beloved deus was being defeated.

"Hah!" Kimiko chuckled to herself. "I'm dominating this match! It's only a matter of time before Chan-Chan really takes a beating!"

With newfound confidence, Kimiko rushed forward, grasped Chan-Chan's arms and threw her onto the ground, scoring major damage.

"What did you mean?" Hitomi demanded. "What did you mean that Fuko is just messing with Kimiko?"

"It's Fuko's trademark move…" Usada murmured, and Hitomi turned to her. "It's nothing special. No magic, no E.S.P or fancy mechanical parts. She simply…"

"Simply what?" Keiichi asked, also interested.

"She performs psychological warfare on her opponent," Usada explained, and Hitomi's eyes widened. "Then, she unleashes her true technique. The opponent then pushes harder, thinking they've simply slowed down. In their rush and anger, Fuko strikes and wins."

"We've got to warn Kimiko!" Hitomi turned to Keiichi, who was shaking his head.

"We can't. It's against the rules," he told her. "And anyway, Kimiko is going to have to figure this out for herself. We can't just rush to her aid every time she meets up against a tough opponent."

"Y-you're right…but…" Hitomi looked at the screen. "I'm starting to get worried."

"ANGEL CHAN-CHAN TAKES YET ANOTHER HIT FROM ANGEL SPIRA!" The announcer shouted into his microphone. "ANGEL CHAN-CHAN'S DOWN TO ALMOST HALF HEALTH! WHAT WILL DEUS FUKO HANABASHI DO NOW?"

"Ready to give up?" Kimiko called from across the layer.

Fuko remained silent. She wasn't saying a word to Kimiko, her eyes were on the layer. She was in deep concentration, something that Kimiko hadn't expected from her opponent. Kimiko had thought that Fuko would have been throwing insults across the layer mercilessly in order to get her flustered and catch her off guard.

"I thought you said Fuko was going to mess with Kimiko's head," Hitomi asked Usada. "She hasn't said a word yet. What's up?"

"Fuko's waiting to make her move," Akari shot back. The others looked at her, intent on what their opponent had to say. "Kimiko Korato's ego is filling like a helium balloon. Fuko's about to spear it with a pin."

"AND ANGEL CHAN-CHAN IS ALMOST PUSHED TO THE EDGE OF THE LAYER! DEUS FUKO HANABASHI IS REALLY HAVING SOME PROBLEMS OUT THERE! COULD THIS MEAN A VICTORY FOR KIMIKO KORATO?"

"Darn right!" Kimiko smiled, looking down at the layer. 'Across the face, Spira!' Spira obliged her Deus and gave Chan-Chan a swift kick across the face with her pale leg, making Chan-Chan fall to the ground.

"Any second now…" Akari murmured, smirking. Hitomi looked at the screen, worried.

"C'mon Kimiko…" Hitomi whispered to herself. "You can do this."

'A sweeping kick, Spira!' Kimiko directed, and Spira dropped to the ground, performing a sweeping kick at Chan-Chan, which she dodged by centimeters. 'Now counter-attack with a high kick! We've got her this time!'

Spira rose from her crouching position and kicked her long leg into the air straight towards Chan-Chan's face. Kimiko was sure that this would send Chan-Chan rushing out of the layer, winning the match!

"That the best you can do?"

Kimiko gasped as Chan-Chan grasped Spira's leg and threw her straight over her rabbit-eared head to the ground!

"Oh my gosh!" Hitomi gasped. "That move did major damage! What happened? Chan-Chan just got suddenly faster!"

"Chan-Chan could always pull off a move like that," Akari smirked at the screen. "Fuko's been toying with Korato."

Chan-Chan didn't stop at the slam. She then lifted her foot and made a swift stomp into Spira's stomach, causing major damage once again. The crowd was a mix of cheers and gasps at the sudden turn around.

"WHAT AN UPSET! ANGEL CHAN-CHAN IS NOW PUNISHING ANGEL SPIRA! THE TABLES HAVE TURNED LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!"

"No way!" Kimiko growled. 'Get up Spira! A punch in the stomach! Follow it up by throwing her across the layer!'

Spira rose to her feet immediately and threw her fist forward. Chan-Chan blocked, but Kimiko was ready with the throw. Spira grasped her opponent's waist and tried to throw her over her head.

"Please!" Fuko laughed. "You think that I'd fall for a move like that?"

Kimiko gasped again as she saw that Chan-Chan's hand were on Spira's waist as well! Can-Chan, with her superior speed and strength, threw Spira over her head, slamming her into the ground.

"Spira!" Kimiko screamed. 'Get up Spira! You were dominating before! Chan-Chan can't beat us!'

Spira rose to her feet again, and, at her Deus' command, ran into battle once again against the mighty golden-clad warrior.

"I don't get it!" Tamayo squealed, ruffling her hair. "Spira was dominating until now! What happened?"

"She's falling into Fuko Hanabashi's trap…" murmured Misaki from her spot past the stands.

"What trap?" Tamayo asked, eager to understand. "I don't get how Chan-Chan is all of a sudden winning this match so easily!"

"It's because Kimiko is flustered," Misaki explained, pointing to Kimiko in her egg. A close up of the Deus on the screen could see a look of extreme frustration on her face. "She saw herself as an easy win in the match, and she now feels upset."

"And therefore her moves are becoming sloppy…" Koutaro gathered, staring hard at the Layer. Misaki nodded, smiling.

"That's right! I just hope she can see through it, you know?" she smiled.

"That's just like you Misakichi!" Tamayo sighed, hugging Misaki around the neck, making Misaki shout her trademark "eeeeks!". "So cute! Marry me!"

"ANGEL SPIRA TAKES ANOTHER DEVASTATING HIT! SHE AND ANGEL CHAN-CHAN ARE NOW EQUAL IN HEALTH! WHAT WILL HAPPEN IN THIS ODD TOSS UP MATCH?"

"Toss up nothing," Fuko smiled at Kimiko, and Kimiko looked up. Fuko was smirking wildly. "You know I'm going to win."

"Why did you let me win in the first half of the match?" Kimiko demanded, angry.

"Just gauging your abilities," Fuko winked. "Sorry girl, but I wasn't impressed."

"So you were just toying with me to see what I could do!" said Kimiko.

"Yep, that pretty much covers it," Fuko yawned. "Now attack again so we can finish this stupid match."

"Eurg!" Kimiko growled, her cheeks blushing pink. She returned to the layer, where both Chan-Chan and Spira were in a dead face off. 'We won't let her think this is going to be a cake-walk, Spira! Attack with you somersault air combo!'

Spira sprinted forward, only to throw her hands to the ground and spring upwards, gathering her body into a somersault position.

"IT SEEMS ANGEL SPIRA IS ABOUT TO UNLEASH HER TRADEMARK MOVE! THE SOMERSAULT AIR COMBO! ANGEL CHAN-CHAN HAD BETTER WATCH OUT! THIS MOVE HAS BEEN KNOWN TO TAKE MORE THEN HALF OF AN OPPOSING ANGEL'S HEALTH POINTS DOWN!"

The crowd started to cheer as Spira came down towards Chan-Chan. Slowly her leg began to poke out of the somersault, and soon she was in a full kicking position. 'At this speed, there's no way she can dodge!' Kimiko smirked. 'This match is mine! That'll teach her for treating me like an amateur!'

"How was that attack any different from the rest of your kicks?"

Kimiko gasped to see that Chan-Chan had a firm grasp on Spira extended leg! Spira was still in the air, and Chan-Chan had managed to turn the attack around on her!

Chan-Chan threw Spira to the ground, and Spira's health was reduced to nearly zero. "Oh my gosh! Spira!" Kimiko yelled, seeing her Angel being beaten to the ground by her opponent. 'Get up before she finishes you off!'

Spira rushed to her feet at her Deus' thought command and sprinted to the other side of the Layer, battered and bruised. Kimiko bit her thumb as Chan-Chan slowly moved in for the kill.

"Kimiko's having real trouble out there!" Hitomi said. "Another hit from Chan-Chan and she's down!"

"Fuko has this match in the bag," Akari smirked. "Just sit and watch your little friend get clobbered."

'What is it?' Kimiko asked herself. 'What am I doing wrong? I was doing fine before! Chan-Chan can't be that much better then Spira! They're both lightweight speed angels! They should have the same parameters and strength! I don't understand why this is happening!'

"Don't get flustered, Kimikoro!"

Kimiko looked up, but saw no one. She looked for Megumi and Sanosuke, but when she found them in the audience, they looked just as confused as her. Kimiko returned to the layer, thinking of what the voice had said. 'Flustered…flustered. That's it!'

She looked towards the Layer, then up at Fuko. 'Fuko made me believe that I was superior to Chan-Chan, lulling me into a false sense of security. But once Chan-Chan landed a hit on me, I became angry and confused. That made me a sitting duck to her attacks!'

Kimiko smiled, finally figuring out the trick. "What's so funny?" Fuko asked, frowning.

"Nothing," Kimiko shook her head. "This match is starting over right now! I've got full health and so do you!"

"Huh?" Fuko asked. "I'm not starting over. What the heck are you saying?"

"I mean hypothetically," Kimiko told her. "We're just two new Deuses meeting in the Layer! No prior attachments!"

"Whatever!" Fuko growled. "Just get ready to lose!"

Chan-Chan rushed forward, her fist ready to punch Spira. As her fist flew forward, Spira blocked it, and then gave Chan-Chan a knee in the stomach. "AND ANGEL SPIRA SCORES A HIT!"

"What the--?" Akari muttered, her eyes wide and confused. "Don't tell me she's calmed down!"

"You bet," Keiichi grinned at the screen. "Kimiko's back in this fight!"

"Why'd you shout that Tamayo?" Koutaro asked, sighing. "And what's with the Kimikoro?"

"She needs a cute nickname too, doesn't she?" Tamayo cheered, jumping up and down. "And thanks to my advice, Kimikoro's back in the game!"

"That's true," Misaki smiled, nodding. "C'mon Kimiko! You can do it!"

Spira lunged forward, launching a punch at Chan-Chan, of which she blocked. But Spira was ready. She thrust her other hand into Chan-Chan's face, blocking her view, and use her legs to throw Chan-Chan over!

"AN IMPRESSIVE MOVE FROM ANGEL SPIRA! KIMIKO KORATO IS BACK IN THE FIGHT! HOW WILL DEUS FUKO HANABASHI FIGHT BACK?"

"Darn," Fuko growled. "You figured it out, didn't you?"

"Clear as crystal," Kimiko smirked. "Your psychological mumbo jumbo is nothing against me anymore!"

"Fine," said Fuko. "Then a straight out fight. Let's see who's really worthy of being the winner, shall we?"

"Right!" Kimiko nodded, then looked back down at the Layer. Spira and Chan-Chan were matched in health, and both would lose if another blow was struck to them. Kimiko had to choose her moves wisely. 'Right! A straight out kick, followed by a sweeping with the leg, and then a stomp!'

Spira rushed forward, her move ready to be executed. She kicked high, but Chan-Chan dodged, and when she performed the sweeping kick, Chan-Chan did what any good rabbit would do.

She hopped.

Straight over Spira's head! Now, Chan-Chan had her back to Spira's. At first, Kimiko was confused as to the meaning of this move, but Chan-Chan made her motives obvious.

"ANGEL CHAN-CHAN IS LINKING ARMS WITH ANGEL SPIRA!" It was true. Chan-Chan had linked her own golden gloved arms with Spira's blue sleeved ones and Spira was trapped! "SHE'S ABOUT TO USE THE RABBIT HOLE TECHNIQUE!"

"Spira! Oh no!" Kimiko shouted to her angel.

Chan-Chan flipped over, flattening Spira onto the layer, using her own weight and the force of the spin!

"THIS ATTACK IS RISKY! IT DAMAGES BOTH ANGELS! LET'S SEE IF IT'S A DOUBLE K.O.!"

Kimiko looked up towards the screen, as did Fuko. Kimiko knew that Fuko had taken a huge risk in order to win the match. The screen still read "calculating".

"AND ANGEL CHAN-CHAN IS THE WINNER!" The crowd exploded into cheers as Chan-Chan rose to her feet, a single health point left over from the attack. Kimiko looked down to see her own angel, Spira, on the ground, defeated. She sighed.

"I lost…" she murmured. The eggs lowered and both Deuses took off their headsets. Kimiko walked up to the Layer and picked up Spira, Fuko doing the same with Chan-Chan. "Good match."

"Same to you."

Kimiko looked over at Fuko to see that her hand was outstretched. She was smirking, yes, but Kimiko felt a sort of respect radiating from Fuko. Kimiko took her hand and shook it. "You played a good game," Fuko winked. "But in the end, I was just better then you."

Kimiko frowned at Fuko's cocky attitude. Luckily, the two remained silent all the way back to team room.

"It's okay you lost Kimiko!" Hitomi said immediately as Kimiko entered the room, throwing her arms around her friend. "Keiichi will win and then we'll win the match and you played great and Fuko cheated and-and-and-"

"That's okay Hitomi!" Kimiko laughed. "Spira's fine, and it's just one match. You've got to get used to losing in Angelic Layer. You're not always going to win."

"I-I-I know!" Hitomi sighed. "But I just didn't want you to feel bad that you lost."

"Well, sure I feel bad," Kimiko shrugged. "But it's no big whoop…Spira's okay."

"You ready to go?" Akari asked Keiichi, who had just stood up and was staring her down.

"You bet," Keiichi nodded, grabbing his carrying case that held Danichi. Akari also grabbed her carrying bag and the two walked out of the team room.

"It's time for the final match…" Hitomi murmured. "Keiichi and Akari! Don't worry Kimiko!" Hitomi smiled, watching Keiichi going out of the team room, his blonde head held high. "Keiichi would never lose!"

* * *

The End of this chapter! I hope you all enjoyed it! I know I did! I'm afraid to report that this fic will remain on hiatus until further notice. (Which means until my other fics get finished and my life gets a little less hectic. Heh, heh…)

Anyway! I hope you enjoyed the fight scenes in this chapter. I did my best with them!

Until then,

Ciao for now!

Next Time: The Battle is Decided: Keiichi and Akari Cross Swords


	5. The Battle is Decided

Just Another Angel Story

Hey there guys! What's shaking? I'm here with Chapter 5 of "Just Another Angel Story", and man am I glad to be back!

Well…actually, I'm cutting my deadline pretty thin, so I'm kind of nervous. I've got half of the chapters that I need to get done, done. But, I've still got a lot of work to do! I must want to kill myself…

Anyway, here's the next chapter! I hope you like it!

* * *

Chapter 5 - The Battle is Decided: Keiichi and Akari Cross Swords

* * *

"You ready to go?" Akari asked Keiichi, who had just stood up and was staring her down.

"You bet," Keiichi nodded, grabbing his carrying case that held Danichi. Akari also grabbed her carrying bag and the two walked out of the team room.

"It's time for the final match…" Hitomi murmured. "Keiichi and Akari! Don't worry Kimiko!" Hitomi smiled, watching Keiichi going out of the team room, his blonde head held high. "Keiichi would never lose!"

* * *

"AND HERE THEY ARE FOLKS!"

Cheers rose through the crowd, along with shouts and applause, not to mention shrieks for Keiichi from girls in the crowd. The two deuses faced off against one another, then shook hands defiantly, not leaving each other's gaze.

"OUR FIRST DEUS, KEIICHI TENDO, HOLDS THE RECORD FOR MOST PIFFLE PRINCESS TOURNAMENTS WON THIS YEAR! TENDO WAS A QUARTER FINALIST AT THE LAST KANTO REGIONALS, AND RUMOR HAS IT THAT HE'S ENTERING ONCE AGAIN THIS YEAR!"

Girls screamed as Keiichi walked over to his egg and sat down, putting his visor over his eyes. Akari smirked at him, her eyes narrowed.

"THE CHALLENGER IS AKARI MORONE! THIS COMPETITOR, YOU WILL ALL BE EXCITED TO KNOW, HOLDS THE PIFFLE PRINCESS TOURNAMENT WIN RECORD FOR THE LAST YEAR! THIS YEAR, SHE'S WON OVER THREE TOURNAMENTS AND SAYS THAT SHE PLANS TO ENTER THE KANTO REGIONALS AS WELL! THIS IS BATTLE BETWEEN TITLE HOLDERS, FOLKS!"

The crowd once again burst into applause and cheers as Akari walked over to her own egg and sat down, putting her visor on. The two deuses rose into the air, level with each other, now looking at the layer instead of each other's eyes.

"THE FIRST ANGEL TO BE RELEASED IS DANICHI!"

Keiichi took Danichi and threw him into the layer. Danichi entered the field of the layer and did an impressive backflip. He turned to face where his opponent would come.

"ANGEL DANICHI IS A HEAVY WEIGHT BUILT FOR DEFENSE!" the announcer exclaimed.

"I've never heard of a Defense Angel," Hitomi told them. "It was one of the options in the booklet, though."

"Yep," Kimiko nodded to Hitomi. "Defense Angels focus on blocking out attacks. They sacrifice power for durability. But, there are some really great deuses that have found ways to use their defense as an offense."

"Such as…?" Hitomi asked.

"Ohjiro Mihara," Kimiko smiled.

"He's a Defense Model?" Tamayo asked as the three of her group stood at the top of the stands, looking downwards. "Like Wizard?"

"Yes," Koutaro nodded. "But Danichi is different in the fact that he's a Heavy Weight. He's obviously much heavier."

"It seems, that instead of using speed and defense," Misaki observed, "Danichi works as sort of…a…" she paused, embarrassed. "I forgot."

Tamayo and Koutaro fell over, but Tamayo got up quickly to suggest a word. "Like a tank?"

"Yes, thank you Tamayo-chan!" Misaki smiled. "He focuses on power and defense instead of speed."

"As for his opponent…" Koutaro began.

"AND THE NEXT ANGEL!"

Akari threw her angel into the layer, and it landed gracefully, doing a somersault and a jump motion.

Hitomi stared at the screen for a better look at the angel. "ANGEL RONSA IS A HEAVY WEIGHT BUILT FOR POWER!" The announcer shouted.

Ronsa had a tan complexion with white strikes on her face and arms. Her hair was an orange red and she wore a crop top colored orange with red claw designs. The sleeves were short and billowed out on her upper arm. Her pants were puffy, and were also orange with the same red claw designs.

Ronsa followed her team's theme with the fact that she had what seemed to be cat ears, colored red orange stick out of her head. Her hands were cat paws, as were her feet. Poking out from her pants was a long cat tail that acted as her angel cord.

"DEUSES, ARE YOU READY?"

Keiichi and Akari both readied themselves, staring at the layer. Their angels took fighting stances and stared off against one another. "BEGIN!"

Ronsa jumped off, using her cat like legs, and tried to pounced on Danichi. Danichi grabbed her arm and swung her around, trying to perform a slam, but Ronsa grabbed his torso and flipped him over with her. Danichi kicked her off before they hit the ground, and the two landed on their feet, no damage taken to either of them.

"Woah!" Hitomi gasped. "How impressive! That exchange was amazing, but neither of them took any damage!"

Ronsa tapped her foot on the ground and then leapt forward again, throwing a punch at Danichi's face. He stepped back, but Ronsa was ready with a side kick that hit Danichi straight across the stomach!

"Oh my gosh!"

"Don't worry Hitomi," Kimiko assured her. "Look."

Danichi looked hardly phased as a few of his health points dropped. He grabbed Ronsa's leg, and then her waist and slammed her to the ground, performing a move that might be used in wrestling matches.

"ANGEL DANICHI PERFORMS A DEVASTATING ATTACK!"

"Danichi is heavier then Ronsa," Kimiko smiled. "Even if Ronsa is built for power, she's still a female model and therefore has less mass then Danichi."

"Don't count Akari out yet," Fuko snapped. "Just watch."

Ronsa leapt up, slinking out from the slam. Keiichi gasped as Ronsa caught Danichi's neck between her feet and jumped over, slamming him into the ground! Ronsa landed perfectly on her feet, and Akari smiled triumphantly.

"A COMEBACK ATTACK FROM ANGEL RONSA! THIS IS GETTING UGLY FOLKS!"

"See?" Fuko smirked. "You're right. Danichi has more power, but Ronsa has more balance. It's natural for the female models. Haven't you ever watched Olympic Gymnastics? The men do exercises that emphasize their upper body strength, while the women do exercises that emphasize balance and grace."

"So Ronsa's faster and more graceful then Danichi…" Hitomi murmured. "So Akari can pull off moves like that!"

"Precisely," Fuko said. "This match is far from over."

"ANGEL RONSA PERFORMS ANOTHER IMPRESSIVE ATTACK!" Ronsa hadn't even waited for Danichi to rise to his feet before she somersaulted into the air and landed on his stomach, knocking more damage.

Danichi, however, grabbed Ronsa's legs, surprising her, stood up with Ronsa still in his grasp, and slammed her to the ground once again.

"This is getting heavy!" Hitomi gasped. "In most of the matches I've seen, the angels all use graceful punches and kicks! Danichi's making it look like a pro wrestling match!"

"That's Keiichi's style," Kimiko observed. "He knows that Ronsa is a tough opponent, so he's not going to go with the graceful attacks that most female angels use. He's going at it tough."

"It's an odd style…" Misaki observed as Danichi and Ronsa began to fight again, grabbing at each other and trying to throw each other. Danichi connected with a punch, but not before Ronsa gave him a sharp knee in the stomach. "Much more violent then usual."

"These two angels are known for their grit fighting," Koutaro said. "Hatoko was telling me about it one time. "Angel Ronsa and Angel Danichi are known as two of the most hardcore fighters in Angelic Layer right now. They don't 'mess around with nice looking moves'."

"They go straight for the kill!" Tamayo gasped. "It's like Yakuza alleyway brawls!"

"Now that you mention it…" Koutaro nodded. "It…does sort of seem like they're more of gang members then martial artists."

"What do you mean Koutaro-kun?" Misaki asked.

"In Martial Arts, there's always a certain amount of routine and balance to it," he told her. "This is just bar room brawling. Street fighting, one might say."

"I know that game! It's in the Arcades!"

"Not 'Street Fighter', Tamayo," Koutaro sighed, shaking his head.

"Anyway," Misaki said, looking back down to the layer where the two were still throwing and dodging punches and kicks. "It doesn't matter how they fight. I feel that these two have a certain connection when it comes to the layer."

Ronsa threw an impressive kick over Danichi's head, only to have him crouch to avoid it and then rise into the air, punching her jaw and sending her flying.

"AN IMPRESSIVE PUNCH FROM ANGEL DANICHI! BOTH ANGELS ARE DOWN TO HALF HEALTH AFTER THIS IMPRESSIVE BRAWL! IT LOOKS PRETTY EVEN FOLKS!"

Ronsa immediately rose to her feet and stared off against Danichi. Danichi ran forward, but Ronsa was ready. She grabbed Danichi's arm, bared her fangs, and bit straight into his shoulder!

"M-MY GOD! THIS IS UNPRECEDENTED! ANGEL RONSA HAS _BITTEN _ANGEL DANICHI!"

Danichi winced with pain, and his eyes were wide. Ronsa finally let go, and Danichi had to fight himself not to grasp his shoulder. He threw a punch, but Ronsa dodged and punched his bitten shoulder. Danichi fell back again, grasping his shoulder.

"That's not fair!" Hitomi cried. "Ronsa injured him and now she's aiming deliberately at his wound!"

"All's fair in love and war," Fuko reminded them haughtily. "Although the biting thing is a bit freaky."

Danichi rose to his feet, panting. Ronsa was stationary, but he kept a close eye on her. There was no saying when she would attack again.

"You're a lot like me!"

Keiichi looked up to see Akari smiling at him, a grin on her face. "I said, you're a lot like me."

"How so?" Keiichi asked, narrowing his eyes.

"You don't fool around with formations or fancy moves," she said. "Neither do I. I know the cardinal rule of battle. The one that doesn't get up at the end is the loser.

"It doesn't matter how you win. Fight clean, or play dirty. I think right now, we're both fighting dirty, wouldn't you say?"

Keiichi paused. "I didn't think you were fighting dirty."

Akari's eyes widened and she looked surprised. "H-heh. Even after I attacked your wounded shoulder? You know, I'm going to _keep_ going for that shoulder."

"That's not playing dirty," Keiichi shrugged. "It's playing smart. You go for your opponent's weakness. I expected it."

Akari was a little taken aback, then, she chuckled. "You are a lot like me, Tendo. But I'm less forgiving I suppose. Anyway, let's finish this, so I can clean the floor with you and your angel."

"Right," Keiichi nodded. "But I'm afraid that you're the one who's going to be the mop today."

Ronsa rushed in and did a jump behind Danichi. Danichi spun around just in time to see Ronsa's fist coming right towards his bitten shoulder.

"Oh no! Watch out!" Hitomi cried.

"Keiichi, dodge it!" Kimiko cried, but it was too late.

Danichi hadn't dodged, but he had moved just in time for Ronsa to punch his face instead of his shoulder. He skidded away, and Ronsa looked down triumphantly.

"ANGEL DANICHI HAS TAKEN A BLOW TO THE FACE! LET'S SEE IF HE CAN GET UP!"

"Keiichi…" Megumi murmured from the sidelines, clutching her broken camera and looking at her brother up in the egg.

"Don't worry Megumi," Sanosuke assured her. "Keiichi will win. He's really good, right?"

"Y-yes…big brother's always been really good at Angelic Layer," she told him. "But I'm worried. Akari is going for his wound, and he can't dodge in time."

"Funny…why didn't he just dodge to the other side?" Sanosuke asked himself. Megumi looked at Sanosuke with a strange expression. "It's…almost like he _meant_ for her to punch him in the face. But what good would that do?"

Megumi and Sanosuke turned back to the layer, more confused then ever at Keiichi's actions.

Danichi rose up, blood slowly dribbling down from his nose to his chin. He rose his hand up and took off his goggles, which were now broken in half. He slid the halves into his pocket and faced off against Ronsa again, a defiant look on his face.

"I've got it!" Misaki announced, and Tamayo and Koutaro turned to her.

"Got what, Misakichi?" Tamayo asked.

"I know why Danichi didn't dodge to the other side!" Misaki said. "He purposely let Ronsa hit him in the face!"

"Wh-what for?" Tamayo asked.

Misaki frowned. "You'll see. I believe…Keiichi Tendo has an ace up his sleeve."

"ANGEL DANICHI IS UP, BATTERED AND BRUISED BUT READY FOR BATTLE! WILL ANGEL RONSA DELIVER THE FINAL BLOW? OR WILL ANGEL DANICHI FIND A WAY TO COME BACK?" The announcer was shouting into the microphone over the crowd's loud cheers for both angels.

Danichi face off against Ronsa, and the two angels stared one another down. Ronsa smirked, and once again leapt off towards Danichi. She was running fast, and she threw fist at Danichi's wounded shoulder.

Danichi grabbed her fist and spun her around to face him. The crowd gasped as Ronsa's face exploded into an expression of pain. Her pupils were small, and her mouth was wide open. No one had seen what happened, but when they all looked at the playback, they gasped.

In the same moment when Danichi had flipped Ronsa around, he had taken out a half of his goggles and stabbed the sharp plastic edge straight into Ronsa's shoulder. He was now digging it in, and Ronsa looked completely immobilized by pain.

"Ronsa!" Akari shouted, standing up. "I don't believe it! You had me punch you on purpose to break your goggles so you could use them as a knife!"

"An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth," Keiichi said simply. "This match…is over!"

Danichi thrust the piece out of Ronsa's shoulder, grabbed her waist, and threw her as far as he could. She sailed peacefully out of the layer and hit the ground.

"LAYER OUT! DEUS KEIICHI TENDO AND ANGEL DANICHI ARE THE WINNERS!"

"Yes!" Hitomi shouted, hugging Kimiko. "We win! We win the match!"

Fuko frowned and looked over at the screen. "Man! How could Akari have screwed up like that?"

"I hope those angels will be all right!" Misaki said worriedly. "They both took such heavy wounds!"

"They'll be all right," Koutaro assured her. "They'll get fixed up, I'm sure."

"Yeah, but what a cutting edge match!" Tamayo cheered. "Koutaro-kun, come with me!" she grabbed her friend's arm. "Let's go buy some slushies to celebrate!"

"We didn't win anything!" Koutaro exclaimed, but it was no use. Tamayo dragged Koutaro off through the door of the tournament room, shouting back to Misaki that they'd be there in five minutes.

"ICCHAN GO BOOM!"

"EEEKS!" Misaki jumped about three feet as none other then Mr. Icchan dropped from the ceiling, landing right next to her on his head. "Oh! Mr. Icchan! Hello there!"

"Hey Misaki!" Icchan smiled. "I see you saw the match as well!"

"Yes," Misaki nodded. "We were just walking by and deciding to drop in! What about you Mr. Icchan?"

Icchan make a "shhhh" sound. "Uhhh…really good matches, huh?"

"Yeah! They were great!" Misaki smiled, and Icchan gave a sigh of relief. "But I got worried about this last one."

"As was I," Icchan nodded, looking at the Layer. "Those two play rough with their Angels. But…" Icchan smiled. "It shows they have enough confidence in them to let them play that rough."

"I suppose," Misaki smiled. "But I'd never let Hikaru do anything that dangerous!"

"Misaki! We're back with the slushies!" Tamayo announced, dragging Koutaro behind her, three slushies in her arms.

"Oh! Hey there Tamayo-chan. I was just talking to Mr. Icchan here…" Misaki turned and gasped to see that Icchan was gone! No where to be seen! "Mr. Icchan? Where'd he go?"

* * *

Back at the layer, Akari had gathered up Ronsa, and the two Deuses were now on the ground level. She shot a look at Keiichi and walked over to him. "That…was brilliant. Using your goggles I mean."

"I just used all of my surroundings," Keiichi told her. "Ronsa's not too hurt, is she?"

"She'll be fine after a bit of repair," Akari assured him. "Same thing with Danichi, right?"

"Right," Keiichi nodded. "You played an awesome game, Akari."

"You're tough, Tendo," Akari smiled. "You played rough out there."

"I only played that way because I knew you could handle it," he told her, grabbing hold of her hand and shaking it. She blushed a little at his words. "I don't go that rough on everyone. You really are an awesome opponent, Akari."

Akari smiled and shook Keiichi's hand. "The same goes for you, Keiichi. Nice job."

"AND WHAT A MATCH FOLKS! I WANT TO THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING TO THIS ROUSING GAME OF ANGELIC LAYER! AND THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR DEUSES!"

Akari and Keiichi smiled at one another and then walked back towards the team room, side by side.

* * *

"You did itKeiichi!" Hitomi cheered as the two arrived. "You won! We won the match!"

"That's right!" Kimiko smiled. "We win! And we have a deal!"

"I wouldn't go back on a promise," Akari said simply, putting Ronsa back in her bag. "I'll make good on my word. We'll stop by the electronics store on the way home."

"Akari, why the hell are you just accepting defeat like that?" Fuko asked defiantly.

"Cause I lost."

"I'm leaving," Fuko growled, throwing her bag over her arm and stepping towards the door. She threw it open and then slammed it behind her, leaving the five of them to their own devices. Just after Fuko had left, Sanosuke and Megumi entered, Megumi smiling at her brother.

"You did it!" Megumi smiled. "Thank you so much."

"Not bad," Sanosuke admitted, smirking a little. "Except for Masamichi, who won by a fluke."

"ARRRGH! I'll show you a fluke!"

"H-Hey! Let go!"

"C'mon," Akari smiled. "Let's go. I apologize for being so rude before. You guys…are pretty cool."

"Thanks!" Hitomi smiled. "You are too!"

"See you in the Kanto Regionals," Akari said to Keiichi, a defiant look on her face. Keiichi nodded.

"C'mon," Akari said, smiling at the group. "We've got a camera to buy, don't we?"

* * *

Yay! The end of the chapter! I'm so happy that I finished another one! I'm seriously jumping for joy here! Yaaaay!

Next Time: A Startling Realization: Angel Kaoru Enters the Scene!

Until then,

Ciao for now!


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